PA Advisors, LLC v. Google Inc. et al

Filing 460

RESPONSE in Opposition re #420 MOTION in Limine (Defendant Yahoo! Inc.'s Motions in Limine) MOTION in Limine (Defendant Yahoo! Inc.'s Motions in Limine) filed by PA Advisors, LLC. (Attachments: #1 Affidavit, #2 Exhibit A-1, #3 Exhibit A-2, #4 Exhibit A-3)(Anderson, Patrick)

PA Advisors, LLC v. Google Inc. et al

Doc. 460 Att. 3

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SIGNTEL CORPORATION

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UNISEARCH: AN A D V A N C E IN PERSONALIZED INTERNET SEARCH

EXECUTIVE S U M M A R Y

Overview
Unisearch (or the "Company") has developed an enabling methodology, based on a unique multi-disciplinary approach, which minimizes the time requirement and inefficiency associated with current online search technology. A t present a typical search tends to produce hundreds, even thousands, o f search results requiring labor-intensive, time-consuming screening by the user. In addition, because the great majority o f results often turn out to be o f little utility, users frequently experience frustration concerning their inability to find the information they are seeking. Conversely, the proprietary Unisearch system will produce results specifically targeted t o each user's uniquely individual characteristics and needs, resulting in a streamlined process and a customized end product. Unisearch can benefit the average Web surfer as well as professional researchers and businesses. It also has the potential for broad e-commerce applications. Its methodology can be applied to the public Internet as well as corporate, institutional, and other proprietary databases. Certain applications can be immediately commercialized, such as an online dating service, generating revenues while the development for additional applications is being completed. The Company has applied for patent protection in the US and under the Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT") which facilitates international patent protection.

Value to Investors
The value o f the Company to potential investors is demonstrated below: Uniqueness Unisearch, formed in 1999, provides a completely unique approach to the pitfalls o f searching databases including the World Wide Web. Its advantages are achieved by combining multiple disciplines including information technology, Internet technology, linguistics, and sociology. The typical Web professional simply does not have adequate knowledge o f these diverse disciplines o r how to combine them to create an effective, personalized technology for locating desired information on the Internet. Understanding Search Engines Search engines are instruments t h a t catalog part o f all o f the content available on the W W W . T h i s information is compiled in a database or directory hierarchy which can then be searched using key words and phrases. The exact method o f searching differs from engine to engine. Based on the search, a list o f results is displayed for the user, with items usually including the site name (URL) or document title along with the first few words o f content. The order in which results are displayed for users is also unique to each engine. Competition among search engines is currently based on the number o f sites/pages indexed (discovered) by the various engines rather than the utility o f the search result to the end user. In fact, the end user does not pay for search engine usage. Therefore, the user's preferences are subordinate to the business objectives o f an intermediary such a s a portal o r directory. Current search engines are relatively ineffective, given the vast size o f the W W W and the high degree o f variation in the quality o f information available there. The engines are unable to keep pace with the rapid proliferation o f Web sites (1.5 million new Web pages are created every day). No one engine indexes more than 16% o f the Web, according to a study reported in the journal, Nature. Content sites also continue to grow rapidly. It is said that it takes an average o f 186 days for a search engine to index a new page. According to International Data Corporation ("IDC"), there will be 7.7 billion Web pages by 2002. Even i f search engines improve their ability to cope with the increasing number o f Web sites available, how does the end user sift through these sites to find what is most relevant to him? Substitute products do not exist. Approximately 46% o f Internet users find new Web sites by using search engines, as opposed to word o f mouth and random surfing which account for about 20% each. The next largest source o f sites is magazines a t about 4.4%. The Wall Street Journal found that people access the Internet to use a search engine 88% of the time, second only to using email (96%). The market is large and fragmented, and no one search engine has a clear competitive advantage. However, Google now claims to be the largest engine, with a full-text index o f 560 million URLs. In addition, because o f how Google makes use o f link data, it claims its reach extends to a further 500 million URLs that it has, in fact, never visited. Both WebTop and Inktomi have indicated that they plan to announce their own half-billion page indices. Thousands o f companies refer t o themselves as either search engines o r directories. O f these, about 400 are covered by the specialty media (see Appendix). The general user has no grasp o f how search capabilities differ, nor does the popular media provide users with this information. However, categories differ by type, by method o f searching, as well as by business model. · Genuine search engines actively crawl the Web in order to add pages t o their information database. Other "search engines" rely strictly on the databases o f other organizations; they may then filter information in another database in a proprietary manner or use unique placement algorithms in ranking search results and delivering information t o users. · Among the active crawlers, the "depth" o f the crawl also varies widely, as does the amount o f information stored for each document found (home page v. full site). Thus, the level o f detail a given engine is capable o f providing varies widely across the industry. · Directories, which abound, are listings only, not engines. · There are both general purpose and specialized search engines. · As an additional category, "meta" search engines (e.g., AskJeeves) aggregate the "top" listed results from several unrelated search engines t o produce their own "results".

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Competition seems to be based on two criteria. size and perceived quality, generally including speed, 'freshness" o f information, and level o f site detail. Since m a n y ' s e a r c h engines" use information developed by other engines and directories, differences may relate only to ranking methodology, filtering o f results, or how much o f t h e d a t a is purchased from the real engine. Starch Engine Business Models Current search engines/directories operate based on several different business models, all geared to optimize financial return rather than enhance enduser satisfaction. Many intermediaries share the same databases and even certain algorithms and filters; portals like Yahoo frequently change providers, a l t h o u g h d i f f e r e n c e s have been m i n o r . Those "engines" that, in reality, use Google for their searches, for example, will not necessarily have access to their full database. Price is a consideration in selecting t h e number o f pages to cover. Many engines or portals just use the ' m o s t popular" pages. Yahoo when using the Inktomi database never contracted for the full d a t a offering available; i t is n o t known whether they will continue this practice using Google. Search engine business models tend to address relationships with (a) listed Web sites, (b) advertisers/sponsors, and (c) consultants seeking higher search engine rankings f o r their clients. Most models assume that aggressive URLs will pay for placement directly o r by purchasing advertising on a site. Why Unlsearch Unisearch capitalizes on the work o f Ilya Geller, a multi-talented scientist, author, computer consultant, and expert in the "philosophy o f language" who emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1992. He has had the advantage o f working and studying in vastly different academic areas, which disciplines have provided him with varied expertise and an open mind. His knowledge o f unrelated fields such as linguistics, t h e psychology o f speech, and computer technology prOVides the springboard for creating an innovative multi-disciplinary approach t o search. The Unisearch methodology i s unique - it passively identifies certain preferences and characteristics specific to each end user, creating a customized, but anonymous, u s e r profile. A similar approach is applied to Web pages to create site profiles. Unisearch then automatically compares user and site profiles through screening to produce a customized result which allows user time to be devoted to information gathering rather than screening. Abandoning a search due to lack o f t i m e or frustration becomes a thing o f the past. The Unisearch methodology is non-intrusive. passively creating a user profile which reflects such attributes as education and intelligence, areas and levels o f knowledge a n d expertise, a n d linguistic ability and preferences. N o invasion o f privacy is experienced. Once created. the profile can be automatically applied to search results a s p a r t of any filtering process, yielding URLs consistent in construction and content with the searcher's profile. Unlsearch - Current Operations An operating prototype demonstrating t h e Unisearch approach has been successfully tested in Russia, and results have been extremely promising. Basic research conducted in Russia has taken advantage o f t h e large pool o f well-educated technical talent available a t reasonable costs. Additional development, while necessary prior to a full-capability launch, is operational in nature and requires limited additional capital. The Company has been fortunate recently to obtain employment commitments from t w o Russian technologists with outstanding experience and capabilities who would be willing to emigrate to the US in order to complete the non-routine aspects o f the project in this country. Patent protection w a s applied f o r in t h e United States in1999 and through the PCT. Additional patent applications will be filed in key international l o c a t i o n s w i t h i n t h e y e a r . T h e t e c h n o l o g y c a n b e e x t e n d e d t o l a n g u a g e s based o n p i c t o g r a p h i c a l p h a b e t s a n d c a n i n c l u d e g r a p h i c s . M a n a g e m e n t i s aware o f no other search. methodology in use today, o r on the drawing board, which produces results t h a t are tailored to each user. Methodology Unisearch creates a user profile unobtrusively by passively identifying user-specific preferences and characteristics. When initiating a search, the system automatically compares t h e profile o f t h e user with the profiles o f each site Identified by a general search engine. The system can then automatically screen responses and eliminate URLs that do n o t correlate with the user's profile. Unisearch Is based on identifiable linguistic patterns and preferences which reflect such attributes as education and intelligence, areas and levels o f knowledge and expertise, and linguistic abilities and preferences. Once created, t h e p r o f i l e c a n b e a u t o m a t i c a l l y u p d a t e d . Applications Unisearch can be applied t o all searches and is especially effective when results must closely relate to user preferences. Unisearch has broad application t o e-commerce a s well. In addition, the technology can be applied to private (corporate) databases as well as public (Internet) data. The technology, in combination with a to-be-developed 'intelligent purchasing a g e n t ' , should have very important commercial application in business-tobusiness as well as business-to-consumer environments. Other applications are under consideration. Over time, the Company will amass important information regarding buying habits and preferences o f users which will be extremely valuable to third party businesses. This database o f information can b e commercialized for greater profit to t h e Company after i t reaches a given number o f users.

The Company is considering a dating service f o r its first commercial application which would allow i t to begin operations in a niche market to which its product is admirably suited and generate cash flow while development work continues. The Company understands that the dating marketplace generated approximately $ 6 0 0 million in revenues in 1998, with about 500,000 individual users, which will be expanded to a t least $786 million by 2003 (Marketdata Enterprises). Demographics indicate that there are in excess o f 90 million adult singles in the US alone. A typical dating service business model i s subscription-based, with pricing between $30 a n d $ 5 0 p e r quarter. Advertising, sponsorships, and e-commerce related to the dating service will generate additional revenue. O t h e r business segments f o r early development include patent search and legal search applications which would require a specialty profile rather than a passively-acquired user profile. Unjsearch Business Model Alternative. Unisearch is exploring several different business models, which alternatives are n o t necessarily mutually exclusive. These include: a. Licensing Company technology to genuine search engines t o enhance their offerings and increase their exposure in the portal and/or corporate markets

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