Patent Document ID: 20050108213
Application ID: 10745093
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A geographical location extraction method to infer a likely geographical location from one or more search terms entered as a query by a user on a search engine or the like, the method comprising utilising one or more processes selected from the group consisting of: word analysis to determine which parts of a search query comprise location names and provide an indicator of the extent to which a given search term or part thereof should be treated as a geographical location; ranking geographical location names in accordance with the probability that the location names are likely to be searched; returning a list of probable locations in response to a search term comprising a non-geographical search term associated with a geographical location name; determining a geographical distance between a likely geographical location derived from the search term and a derived geographical location of a user; the user submitting criteria including a locality name, identifying from the criteria the locality name and returning, in dependence on the locality name, a probability that the locality name is associated with a geographical location; categorising search terms in a query into a local activity or a remote activity; analysing the order in which words appear in a search query string, in combination with a search in a locations database, to return a likelihood of a search term relating to a list of probable associated locations; and inferring a geographical location from a search query including a point of interest.