Google shuts down assumptions that a patent it acquired will bring about a pay-per-gaze system with the rise of visual search technology.

In yet another case of the “we acquired it, but we don’t (officially) plan to use it” plea, Google has countered initial suppositions that a patent for technology could charge brands by the gaze via Google Glass. Brafton recently covered news about the patent acquisition, explaining that it could potentially bring about a new way to market products and services in which brands pay each time consumers view their digital content.

Google quickly responded, telling Marketing Land‘s Matt McGee that it has no immediate plans to use the technology.

“We hold patents on a variety of ideas. Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don’t. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patents,” the search engine asserted.

It’s true that Google has a track record of securing patents and putting them on the backburner – e.g. AuthorRank. Earlier this year, Search Engineer Matt Cutts made a similar statement in a Webmaster Help Channel video, assuring marketers and SEOs that just because Google acquired a patent doesn’t mean the technology will ever be used.

For the meantime, companies can rest assured they won’t be racking up AdWords charges because Glass users are looking at the web content on their product pages. However, the news signals that the search engine is exploring opportunities to shape the way paid ad campaigns will evolve in the future.

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.