What You Do Not Know About Google Image Search?

January 23, 2023
- Intellectual Property (IP)
- Technology

Google image search is a service provided by the internet giant “Google” which allows you to search for images using an image instead of keywords or a search query.

To search using an image, you simply need to upload an image or URL to the image by heading to Google Images: https://images.google.com/. Google will then look and show you the related, similar, or exact copy images. 

The google image search is very useful in conducting various kinds of searches including design patent searches. During design searches for checking novelty or patentability, you face difficulty in conducting searches using keyword-based approaches as these inventions have very limited technical keywords or descriptions.

In such a situation, the image-based search engine Google can be a blessing. It is very easy to conduct design searches using this feature by simply uploading the image of your invention and getting the results directly. These features quickly show you similar images and you can judge if something like your invention exists or not. So easy! Right?

BUT DO YOU KNOW THAT THE “GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH” FEATURE WHICH SEEMS TO BE A BLESSING CAN PROVE TO BE A BANE?

The “Google image search” feature can hamper the confidentiality of your invention during image searches. Yes! You read it right. You should avoid using this feature, especially for patentability searches where the confidentiality of your invention is of utmost priority. You must be now curious to know, why you should avoid using this feature if this can get you results quickly and easily. Let’s see the reason behind it.

How the Google image search feature can be a Bane?

The Google search engine does not immediately delete the searched image. Instead, it stores a compressed version of the uploaded image in its database for a short time i.e., about a week, and then deletes it. So, there is a possibility that google may show the uploaded image to any user who is searching on a similar concept. Your invention may get leaked, thus hampering the confidentiality of your idea.

This is something startling for an inventor and a design searcher!

Thus, through this article, we want inventors and the IP community to know the above-mentioned fact so that they can understand the sensitivity of using the google image search feature. We recommend using this feature wisely as though it’s a good feature, but it can be harmful in other ways.

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