Google Inc. has been awarded on 17th of February 2010 a patent named “Variable user interface based on document access privileges”. The patent application was field in September 2004.
A new way of geotargeting. This time: documents .
Patent’s abstract description says: “Users may be presented with different viewing interfaces for a document based on a combination of factors relating to display rights possessed for the document and user specific information. In one implementation, the user’s location is used to determine portions of the document that can be displayed to the user. More particularly, access privileges to a document for a user are determined based on geographical location information of the user and based on access rights possessed for the document. Portions of the document may then be formatted for display to the user based on the determined access privileges.”
By using technolgy in this patent Google may be able to display different versions of the same document in two different geographical location.
The technology may also be used to control access to certain books that are illegal in specific countries.
Location, Location, Location !
Location based access control is already frequently used for video content, but this technology will allow Google, which aims to build the biggest global virtual library, to give access to two or more different versions of the same document depending on the geographical location of the browser.
Critics to this patent cite censorship worries which could lead to blocking access to certain uncomfortable documents from being viewed in certain countries. Also, this patent is thought to serve Google in their effort to strike reasonable deals with publishing houses.
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