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SeeqPod

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SeeqPod, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustrySearch engine
FoundedJuly, 2005
HeadquartersUnited StatesEmeryville, CA US
Key people
Kasian Franks, Founder
Raf Podowski, Founder
Shekhar Lodha, Founder
Websitewww.seeqpod.com

SeeqPod was a search and recommendation engine specifically for indexing and finding playable search results including audio, video, podcasts and Wikipedia articles [1] that are publicly accessible on the World Wide Web.[2] The site claims to index more than 13M individual tracks and files. [3]. On April 1 2009, SeeqPod filed for bankruptcy protection under chapter 11.[4] The service is currently unavailable, and some have speculated that SeeqPod has been purchased by Microsoft.[5]

History

SeeqPod’s search and recommendation technology is anchored by a biomimetic algorithm originally developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab under the name GenoPharm.

GenoPharm’s unique algorithm mimics the way a biologist searches through biomedical literature for connections between genes. The system, meant to serve as an add-on to a biologists brain, has allowed researches to find indirect connections between genes and therapies that had never been noticed before. This expedited the research process, allowing biologists to do in minutes what normally would have taken days[6].

The unique ability to understand complex, hidden relationships between genes and diseases was soon applied to playable media content on the internet under the name SeeqPod.

Since SeeqPod is powered by the GenoPharm algorithm, the engine solves search queries by linking relevant information automatically from each analyzed source of information, creating connections similar to how the human brain might. This is in contrast to the traditional search engines, which rely mostly on familiar keyword associations.

R&D Magazine recognized the development of SeeqPod’s search technology by naming it the winner of the 2008 R&D 100 Award in Software[7], dubbed the 'Oscars of Innovation' by The Chicago Tribune[8].

Primarily as a result of the company's legal struggles, SeeqPod filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 1, 2009. [9] Around this time, the company looked at changing its business model by potentially licensing its technology to third-party developers. [10] Some speculate that SeeqPod has been purchased by Microsoft or that the company has licensed SeeqPod's software [11][12]. As of July 28, 2009, the SeeqPod service is unavailable, with the website displaying a list of Seeqpod's community sites. [13]

Criticism

On January 18, 2008, Warner Music Group, along with Electra Records and Rhino Records, filed a complaint against SeeqPod in the U.S. District Court Central District of California[14]. Warner Music Group alleges that SeeqPod is liable for copyright infringement by linking to sites containing unauthorized and illegal copies of copyrighted music. The complaint points to SeeqPod’s ability to search for a particular type of content – music – that is copyrighted. SeeqPod is claiming safe harbor under Title II of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act ("OCILLA"), which creates a safe harbor for online service providers (OSPs, including ISPs) against copyright liability if they adhere to and qualify for certain prescribed safe harbor guidelines and promptly block access to allegedly infringing material (or remove such material from their systems) if they receive a notification claiming infringement from a copyright holder or the copyright holder's agent. In February 2009, Capitol Records and EMI filed a complaint against SeeqPod and its search engine technology.

While similar cases have been filed against YouTube, MP3Tunes.com, Veoh, PornoTube, and Divx/Stage 6, this case is particularly important as it directly tests how copyright law applies to search engines. Unlike the before-mentioned cases, which involve hosting copyrighted material, SeeqPod is the first to be sued for merely searching and presenting media available on other people’s servers[15].

References

  1. ^ http://www.rdmag.com/ShowPR.aspx?PUBCODE=014&ACCT=1400000101&ISSUE=0809&RELTYPE=A87&PRODCODE=00000000&PRODLETT=FR&CommonCount=0
  2. ^ ReadWriteWeb - SeeqPod Music and Recommendation Search Engine
  3. ^ http://www.seeqpod.com/blog/2008/10/lets-put-the-disco-back-in-discovery/
  4. ^ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/04/seeqpod-bullied-into-bankruptcy-by-record-industry.ars
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ http://newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2005/03/31/a-search-engine-that-thinks-almost/
  7. ^ http://www.rdmag.com/ShowPR.aspx?PUBCODE=014&ACCT=1400000101&ISSUE=0809&RELTYPE=A87&PRODCODE=00000000&PRODLETT=FR&CommonCount=0
  8. ^ http://www.rdmag.com/awards.aspx
  9. ^ [2]
  10. ^ [3]
  11. ^ [4]
  12. ^ [5]
  13. ^ [6]
  14. ^ http://www.eff.org/files/Warner%20v%20SeeqPod%20complaint.pdf
  15. ^ http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/01/latest-test-dmca-safe-harbors-warner-sues-seeqpod

See also

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