Infoseek Patents Internet Search Technique

Method Expected to Give Infoseek Substantial Edge - and Users Better Results - in Next Generation Internet Searches

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - September 8, 1997 - Infoseek Corporation (Nasdaq: SEEK), provider of a leading Internet navigation service, today announced that it has received a US patent on a novel technique for performing searches of Web sites on the Internet.

The patent awarded to Infoseek lies at the heart of the company's mission to help people find the information they want on the Internet, no matter where that information resides, explained Infoseek chairman Steve Kirsch. "As information on the Internet becomes increasingly dispersed over a large number of databases and as searching the Internet moves from a centralized model to a decentralized one, this patent should give us an enormous strategic advantage," said Kirsch. "This is the only technique we are aware of for performing accurate relevance ranking across databases indexed by different search engines. For users, that means more timely, comprehensive and accurate results."

This patented search technique is designed to address the fact that, as the Internet evolves, information in certain Web sites may be searched using different search engines. These search engines have varying methods for determining how relevant a particular document may be to a specific request. Infoseek's new technique will provide users with the documents that most closely match their individual query because it enables a uniform relevance ranking of the information returned from the searched databases, regardless of the engine type used by the database.

According to Professor Bruce Croft, Director of the NSF Center for Intelligent Information Retrieval (CIIR) at the University of Massachusetts, a track of the recent TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) evaluation dealt exclusively with the problem of merging results from multiple databases. "Information retrieval researchers have recently focused considerable attention on this difficult and important topic," said Croft. "Infoseek's patented technique provides a straightforward solution that guarantees accuracy."

"It's a brilliantly simple but highly accurate technique for solving the collection fusion problem," remarked Jamie Callan, research professor and Assistant Director of the CIIR. "I wish I had thought of it."

According to Kirsch, major signs of the breakdown of the current centralized approach to Internet searching are already present: most search engines have a lot of dead links and outdated information, and searches are inaccurate, returning many false matches. "No one can afford to keep a full index of the Internet, making an exhaustive search impossible even today - at the very beginning of the Internet boom," said Kirsch. "The move to distributed searching is inevitable since it overcomes these problems, and we believe our patent gives us a substantial edge over our competitors."

The Infoseek technique applies only to searches across multiple databases and is compatible with other search engines and services. It is independent of the relevance-ranking algorithms used by each search engine, so that each search engine may utilize its own, efficient ranking for the documents it contains. Once each database returns its documents, the Infoseek technique then uses an algorithm to rank these rankings, delivering an accurate, uniform listing of results that appears to have come from a single database to a user's desktop. As Internet growth outpaces Internet search providers' scalability in terms of size, currency and accuracy, this technique is expected to become increasingly important.

The technique has major advantages over existing methods:

• Accuracy - A document's score is independent of the database in which it resides
• Vendor Independence - The technique works across search engines from different vendors, so it's ideal for the Internet space, where not all Web sites use the same search service
• Optimal Engine Functionality - The technique allows each search engine to operate at maximum efficiency using individual relevance-ranking techniques to identify the documents that best match a query

The Infoseek technique is compatible with emerging Internet distributed searching standards, such as the STARTS protocol developed at Stanford University in conjunction with leading search vendors, including Microsoft, @Home, CNIDR, Excite, Knight-Ridder, PLS, Fulcrum, Netscape, H-P, NASA and Verity (for more information, see http://www-db.stanford.edu/~gravano/starts_home.html).

"If a search engine supports the STARTS protocol, a search client using the Infoseek technique can perform accurate relevance-ranked searches over databases regardless of vendor," Kirsch said. "Our technique guarantees, for example, that identical documents in different databases will get the same relevance score. There is no other way we are aware of to do this."

Infoseek has been using a limited form of the technique in its Internet search service for more than a year. The technology is also incorporated into Infoseek's recently introduced search server product, Ultraseek Server, designed for indexing Web sites and intranets, which is now in use at major organizations including Sun Micosystems and CNN. "Sun went through an extensive evaluation with other search vendors before selecting Infoseek," explained Kirsch. "Infoseek's patented distributed searching ability was a key reason Sun selected us. We've been able to repeat that success at other major companies."

The patent, US Patent Number 5,659,732, entitled "Document Retrieval over networks wherein ranking and relevance scores are computed at the client for multiple database documents," was issued on August 19, 1997. The full text of the patent, and a graphic illustrating the technique, is available online at http://software.infoseek.com/patents.

This press release contains forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the company's ability to achieve and maintain a substantial edge over its competitors due to the issuance of such patent, whether the technique encompassed in such patent will become an important feature in the overall Infoseek service, or whether such technique will have, or will continue to have, any major advantages over existing methods.

Actual results could differ materially from the results predicted. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the company's limited operating history, the increasingly competitive environment for the company's services, and the dependence on advertising revenues and third parties for sales, technology, content and distribution.

About Infoseek
Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Infoseek Corporation provides a leading, free Internet navigation service. Infoseek is one of the most frequently visited sites on the Internet because its easy-to-use product allows new, as well as experienced users to find efficiently the information they need on the Web and from major news sources. Infoseek also offers the world's largest directory of Web sites organized by topic. Infoseek's navigation service has won numerous industry awards for its precise, relevant responses. The company's World Wide Web site and Internet navigation services can be accessed at http://www.infoseek.com.

Infoseek, Ultraseek and the Infoseek logos are trademarks of Infoseek Corporation, which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Other trademarks shown are trademarks of their respective owners.