Google content-filter patent about copyright, not censorship

Google has been awarded a patent that describes a software method for selectively restricting the availability of content on the basis of access privileges and geographical location.

On the surface, it may look like this patent covers techniques for censoring politically sensitive content in specific countries—a practice that Google has recently spoken out against in its ongoing feud with China. A closer look at the patent's claims, however, shows that it has little to do with censorship and may actually relate to the company's controversial book scanning initiative. Patent #7,664,751, "Variable user interface based on document access privileges," submitted to the patent office in September, 2004 and was awarded to Google on Tuesday. Like most patents, it is written to be very broad, but it identifies some specific use cases. The major case it covers is a system where the availability of scanned documents, such as books and magazines, is constrained to selected portions or restricted entirely based on access privileges that are derived from copyright law and other related factors. In cases where access is limited or restricted, the patent explains that the software could supply the user with links to buy the full document.