Patent ID: 7991767

Claim:
A method for providing a search index that is sharable across a plurality of computer systems within a peer to peer network, comprising: obtaining at least one file for indexing from a first one of said computer systems in said peer to peer network; determining, responsive to said file and said search index, whether said file is a duplicate of a previously indexed electronic file currently represented in said search index, wherein said previously indexed file is stored on a second one of said computer systems in said peer to peer network; in the event said file is determined to not be a duplicate of said previously indexed file currently represented in said search index, indexing said file such that said file is represented in said search index; in the event that said file is determined to be a duplicate of said previously indexed file currently represented in said search index, modifying an existing representation for said previously indexed file in said search index by associating at least one category identifier with said existing representation in said search index, wherein said category identifier indicates said first one of said computer systems in said peer to peer network; in the event that said file is determined to not be a duplicate of a previously indexed file currently represented in said search index, generating a unique identifier for said file and storing said unique identifier in said search index; and wherein determining whether a subsequently obtained file is a duplicate of a previously indexed file currently represented in said search index includes comparison of a unique identifier associated with said subsequently obtained file with said unique identifier stored in said search index.