Terry Cane, Chief Operating Officer of SEOHost.net, considers the implications of the lawsuit by software company Droplets against Yahoo! regarding the wider search market.
ORLANDO, Fla., April 28, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Terry Cane, COO of global SSL service domain registration and SEO hosting provider SEOHost.net (https://www.seohost.net), believes the outcome of the patent lawsuit between Yahoo! and Droplets could have significant implications for the wider search engine market.
Software company Droplets first filed the suit in 2011, alleging that Yahoo! infringed upon its patent, United States Patent No. 6,687,745, "System and method for delivering a graphical user interface of remote applications over a thin bandwidth connection." Also named in the suit were Google, Amazon, Apple, YouTube, and Facebook and United States Patent No. 7,502,838, "System and method for delivering remotely stored applications and information." While the other companies chose to pursue licensing agreements with the company, Yahoo! chose instead to pursue legal action.
Last month, a California federal jury found that although Yahoo!'s other products did not infringe Patent No. 6,687,745, the company's Search Suggest feature did. The company was ordered by a federal judge to pay $15 million to Droplets. For its part, the software company stated that the verdict affirms that it "invented technology that changed the Internet."
"We've already seen a great deal of movement on the patent front in 2022," says Cane. "First was the ruling by the United States International Trade Commission that Google infringed upon multiple patents held by speaker manufacturer Sonos, then the patent infringement suit Google won around Google Ads, now there's the case with Yahoo! and Droplets. And these are only scratching the surface."
"At first glance, this may appear to have relatively little to do with search," she continues. "Google has paid a license to Droplets for some time, and Yahoo!'s share of the market is small by comparison. I believe, however, that the outcome of this suit and the push it signifies in the wider market could have significant implications."
Cane points to the outcome of the case between Google and Foundem, in which the search engine giant was accused of anticompetitive practices. Google lost an appeal in November 2021, which ultimately resulted in it being fined €2.4 billion ($2.58 billion USD). Publications such as Reuters have suggested that such rulings could considerably strengthen the European Union's current push to regulate big tech.
"The EU has long been a global leader in terms of laws and regulations around technology," explains Cane. "Between the potential for new regulations there and ongoing litigation here, we may be looking at a very different search landscape in the near future."
About SEOHost.net:
Located in Orlando, Florida, with locations worldwide, SEOHost.Net provides a wide range of services in both the U.S. and the E.U., including domain registration, SSL Hosting for SEO, and VPS, dedicated, and A-Class IP hosting. The company offers exceptional service with a strong service level agreement, multiple geographic locations, and free migration. For more information, visit https://www.seohost.net.
Media Contact
Terry Cane, SEO Host, 407-476-9854, [email protected]
SOURCE SEO Host
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