IAC Search & Media, Inc. was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly-traded holding company IAC Inc. (formerly IAC/InterActiveCorp, NASDAQ: IAC), which is headquartered in New York City. The subsidiary was the legal entity operating the assets of Ask.com, a search engine founded in 1996 as Ask Jeeves. IAC acquired Ask Jeeves, Inc. in 2005 for approximately $1.85 billion and rebranded it. As of early May 2026, IAC announced it was shutting down its search business, including Ask.com, as part of a broader strategic shift.
The primary operation of IAC Search & Media was the web search engine Ask.com. Originally launched as Ask Jeeves, it was known for its question-and-answer format that allowed users to query in natural language. Facing intense competition from other search engines, the company outsourced its search technology in 2010 and focused more on its question-and-answer roots. The parent company IAC's "Search" segment, which included Ask Media Group, generated revenue primarily through performance-based advertising. However, following a non-renewal of a key services agreement with Google, IAC officially closed Ask.com on May 1, 2026.
IAC Search & Media's patent litigation posture is that of an operating company defending its business. The provided data shows it has been a defendant in one tracked case and has not appeared as a plaintiff. This is consistent with a technology company being targeted by a patent-holding entity rather than asserting its own patents. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The company's only tracked case is I/P Engine, Inc. v. AOL, Inc. et al., filed in 2011. In this notable case, IAC Search & Media was a co-defendant alongside other major technology companies, including Google and AOL, defending against patent infringement claims related to search advertising technology. The defendants ultimately prevailed when the judgment against them was overturned on appeal.