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I was a "technical advisor" in Google's patent lit dep't. Searching prior art was my favorite thing to do, but not the whole job by any means.

(If you're wondering: my least favorite task was finding the sections of code that supposedly infringed someone's patent, and then getting the PM's approval to turn it over to the other side. They can't actually say No, but they can be a PITA.)

I killed this patent:

https://searchengineland.com/google-maps-might-be-banned-in-...

after many, many people failed to find the prior art that I found. It's only easy once someone tells you.

Interestingly, now I can't find it! Maybe they took it down. It WAS the first result on scholar.google.com if you searched "client-server maps." This is the same project:

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20040006300/downloads/20...



Your former role Google must have many great stories and experiences. Did you ever blog about it? I am sure HN crowd would love to read and discuss!


Well, legal matters are a different kettle of fish, as it were. They tend to be a little touchy about what you say in public.




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