Centraal Corp has signed a deal with search engine and caching software provider Inktomi to have its RealNames alternative to domain name included with all Inktomi’s search engine partners. However, Inktomi’s partners, which include Yahoo Inc, Lycos’ HotBot, Snap and MSN, will have the choice of whether or not they want to display the RealNames within their search results and in what format. Users and corporations can register RealNames with Centraal, which then maps them to URLs through its resolution engines. What the privately-held start-up really needs is deals with browser manufacturers to integrate its service into the software, but it has already secured deals with Compaq’s AltaVista and the LookSmart search engine, so each time somebody enters a query, the first thing it returns is a link to the RealNames site, asking if the user wants to register the query as a RealName. It is especially useful for companies with multiple product lines as it enables users to type in brand names and be taken directly to the relevant part of the company’s site. Work to include RealNames with Inktomi’s search engines will be completed by the end of March, says Centraal chief executive Keith Teare, and by about June we will know which of its partners plan to include the service, he says. If they do use it, the minimum requirement is that they include the superscripted ‘RN’ motif on the query result. Inktomi gets access to the RealNames data for free, but it will pay Centraal what Teare calls usage revenues, by which he means that each time a RealName is used and Centraal’s databases is queried, it will be compensated. The two companies will share revenues that Centraal gets from converted leads generated from Inktomi’s partner sites. Teare won’t say exactly what they are, but he says that overall, about 40% of Centraal’s revenues get shared with its partners. On Tuesday a judge granted Centraal a summary judgement in a patent infringement case brought against it by a rival, Netword LLC. Teare says that’s the end of the case for now as judges don’t very often rule so early – five months after the suit was filed – in patent cases unless they feel the other side has not got a chance of prevailing. Teare says Centraal has another request for a summary judgement prepared, namely to declare the Netword patent invalid. It has not submitted it to the court yet, but may well do so as it would add value to the company if it were to win. We can also expect two other major announcements this quarter out of the ambitious Palo Alto start up, one of which will be a major portal, says Teare.
