Why Jenzabar expert's affidavit about Google search rankings is unreliable

by Paul Alan Levy

Last month, I posted briefly about an affidavit from Frank Farance, the former high school math wizard whose expert testimony has been offered by Jenzabar to contradict Google’s announcement that it does not use keyword tags in computing search ranking.  The affidavit was submitted to try to stave off summary judgment in a case where Jenzabar is suing documentary film-makers Long Bow Group claiming trademark infringement because Jenzabar’s name is in the meta tags for a page about the later life of Ling Chai, who founded Jenzabar but was a leading character in a Long Bow documentary.

Drawing in part on useful responses to my post by commenters on Techdirt and Dave Farber’s Interesting People, we have submitted a brief explaining why Farance’s affidavit fails the Daubert test for reliability of expert testimony. 

This post was a useful experiment in crowd-sourcing the analysis of technical testimony.  We also received private communications from individuals who either are former Jenzabar staff, or knew Farance personally, and who provided valuable insights about both of them.  We are grateful for their assistance.

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