May 21, 2012 at 11:04am ET by Greg Sterling

European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia issued a statement this morning offering "preliminary conclusions" of the EU's investigation of numerous antitrust complaints against Google. It lays out "concerns" about Google's market power in four areas. Almunia acknowledges Google's prior statements about a willingness to settle and suggests that if a settlement can be reached Europe and Google will be able to put the matter behind them: I believe that these fast-moving markets would particularly benefit from a quick resolution of the competition issues identified. Restoring competit [...]

Second Google-Sponsored Legal Report Argues Government Would Lose Antitrust Case

May 14, 2012 at 10:16am ET by Greg Sterling

Google is playing a sophisticated form of "head games" with antitrust regulators. A second legal report-cum-brief (embedded below) has appeared. It argues that antitrust challenges against Google are likely to fail because Google's critics' arguments lack legal merit and/or make little sense from a policy perspective. The report was written by lawyers from the Ammori Group, "a law firm and Internet-law consulting practice whose clients include Google Inc." A Shrewd "PR Campaign" by Google Last week a report by UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh literally made the case that the US First Amen [...]

Related Topics: Google: Critics | Google: Legal | Legal: Regulation

Does The First Amendment Create A Complete Defense For Google Against Antitrust Regulation?

May 9, 2012 at 9:08am ET by Greg Sterling

Google now faces antitrust investigations on multiple continents. The US FTC recently hired a prominent outside litigator in a sign that it may be preparing to bring an action against the company. But does Google have a "slam dunk" defense against such a case (at least in the US) under the First Amendment of the Constitution? A Preview of Google's Legal Arguments? Yes says UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh in a new paper-cum-legal brief. The document, which was commissioned by Google, also serves as a kind of template for legal arguments Google might make in a US antitrust case. The release o [...]

Related Topics: Google: Legal | Legal: Regulation | Top News

Google Asks Court To Dismiss Book-Scanning Lawsuits

May 3, 2012 at 7:34pm ET by Matt McGee

As their long-running legal battle continues, Google has asked a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits brought by authors' and photographers' groups over its book-scanning service. According to Bloomberg News, Google told judge Denny Chin that The Authors Guild can't sue on behalf of the authors because the Guild doesn't own the copyrights to the books that Google has been scanning since the program was announced in 2004. Reuters reports that, in response to Google's claim, Chin said "it would take forever" to resolve individual author's lawsuits and that it "seems to make sense" to allow th [...]

Related Topics: Google: Book Search | Google: Legal | Legal: Copyright | Top News

The Complete Guide To Bidding On Competitor Brand Names & Trademarked Terms

Apr 26, 2012 at 1:59pm ET by Ted Ives

It’s been long known in the industry that brand term keywords garner a much higher click-through-rate. As a result, marketers often start by bidding on their own brand terms.

Related Topics: Enterprise SEM | How To: PPC | How To: SEM | Legal: Trademarks

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