MLM Directory

Does a search engine own the searches people perform?

Suppose a person searches an engine because they are considering trademarking a term or patenting an idea...does the search engine have the right to sell those terms to perhaps a marketing research company? What promises does a search engine make to not profit from the terms people use to search with?

Public Comments

1. There is no promise made for not selling terms. As a matter of fact, that is how Google blew up to be so big. They sell key words. The way it works is when you type in a key word such as "cars" companies such as BMW, FORD, MERCEDES pay to be at the top of the list when searches come back. All the items on the right of a google search result page are the paid ads. So yes, people make a profit off of words.