Antitrust Inquiry into Google - Is Google the New Bad Boy? | Small business news; tips; networking

Posted by dreamwithdeadline under Legal
From http://www.nytimes.com 5621 days ago
Made Hot by: on June 15, 2009 4:12 pm

The U.S. Department of Justice has stepped up its antitrust investigation of the book class-action settlement between Google and groups representing authors and publishers. So -- is Google taking Microsoft's place as the company that the Department of Justice loves to hate?

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Comments

Written by robertbrady
5619 days ago

Of course Google is a target because A)they make lots of money and B)they espouse the policy that it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Where else in the world can you take the mentality that it's okay to take advantage of someone until they tell you to stop?

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Written by ShawnHessinger
5619 days ago

I guess the question is whether other companies could do something similar and offer similar libraries on line. Google, as a search engine, reserves the right to cache large amounts of copyrighted material as a function of their fundamental service, however, it is generally understood that content providers give their tacit approval by placing their materials on line and allowing Google to index them. In this case, Google scanned the material in essentially creating a digital derivative from the print original. Could other companies do the same? If so, how is this a problem?

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Written by smallbiztrends
5620 days ago

Yep, the company that pledges to "do no evil" is going to be cast as the evil-doer by the Justice Department. Once you get big enough, you become a visible target and they turn their eye on you.

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