Northeastern University sued Google for patent infrigement claiming the database technology patented in 1997 was misappropriated by Google, according to The Boston Globe.

The lawsuit claims the technology Google uses to feed up search result was initially developed and patented exclusively by Jarg Corp. in Waltham, a pricately funded developer of advanced search technology cofounded by Northeastern associate proffesor Kenneth P. Baclawski.

The patented technology covers a method for dividing database queries into different smaller portions that are each processed by a different computer. This allows for faster searching through Google’s immense databases.

Although Google was incorporated in 1998, the plaintiff said they did not know about the patent infrigement until about 2 and half years ago, when a representative of a Boston-area law firm informed them that the database technology he saw in a presentaion by Google resembled Northeastern’s patented technology.

The plaintiff said they expect Google to be “generous enough to pay a normal royalty”, according to the same The Boston Globe.