Disney patents search engine that makes illegal content untraceable

Disney has patented technology for a search engine to ensure that illegal content cannot be found. Websites are ranked on the basis of their ‘authenticity’, which should ensure that users are less likely to end up on pirated websites.

TorrentFreak discovered that a patent was granted to Disney last week that describes online content ranking. It works with a so-called authenticity index; By looking at certain criteria for ‘authenticity’, websites are ranked, so that, for example, piracy websites with a lot of illegal content are ranked lower.

The main purpose of Disney’s search engine is to filter out unwanted search results, mainly piracy. Disney has an interest in making illegal content more difficult to find, as it itself is the copyright holder for many films, games and other content. Among other things, the search engine gives a higher rating to official websites when content is searched: for example, the Disney website will be high in the search results if a search is made for a film owned by the company.

It is unclear whether Disney plans to build its own search engine based on the patented technique. It is also possible that licenses will be issued, but it is not known whether there are any candidates.