Google Anti-Trust Investigation: Justice Department Opens Inquiry Into Google Books Deal

New York Times:

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into Google's settlement with authors and publishers over its Google Book Search service, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Lawyers for the Justice Department have been in conversations in recent weeks with various groups opposed to the settlement, including the Internet Archive and Consumer Watchdog. More recently, Justice Department lawyers notified the parties to the settlement, including Google, and representatives for the Association of American Publishers and the Author's Guild, that they were investigating various antitrust issues related to the far-reaching agreement.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[brandnewstuff]

breakingpoint I read the link- R is for rancid rethugs! copyright- privacy and piracy- That is where the DOJ needs to be- with domestci spying ops that are expliotation of the 1st and 4th -- How Technolgy and The Constitutional laws need to Merge In the 21st century and Bring on the AGE of Technolgy COURTS

[brandnewstuff]

Good More Anti- Trust in all areas - NOt Just GOOGLE

[breakingpoint]

Google is quickly becoming an internet lawyer company

This will be interesting - Congress hasn't even begun to catch up with the net and all the problems between consumer and business - right now it's buyer really beware. A lot of this is the foolish DMCA - until that's re-addressed this will go around and around and around.

Look at this crap.
http://zenhabits.net/2009/04/feel-the-fear-and-do-it-anyway-or-the-privatization-of-the-english-language

note: Al Gore owns 40% of Google Stock

[peachykeen]

I seriously doubt Al Gore or any one person owns 40% of Google stock. Where did u come up with that?

[evekendall]

Enjoyed the article. Thanks.

[primeelite]

At least we know NY Times will never be in position for any kind of monopoly since they keep insisting on people to pay for content they can find other places for free. They need to learn that the thing about news is it spreads around and is not entitled to just one person or one news source. Google on the other hand has had this coming for some time now as they have taken control of everything on the internet. Being someone who owns a business I think before we go after google we need to look at walmarts price fixing, market manipulation, and employee exploitation practices.

[LeftTexas]

Wasn't micro soft trying to buy them awhile back?

[OneAngryDwarf]

Yahoo! not Google.

[JimBozo]

It's good that out-of-print books will be accessible, but I'm not so sure that Google should have an exclusive on them. I really don't trust Google, since the CIA supplied their start-up funding, and the two have been in bed together, ever since. http://www.infowars.net/articles/march2008/310308Google.htm

If Google can do this, any other organization should be able to have the same deal. Monopolies are always bad.

[marxmarv]

I like the idea of a "publish or perish" notion of copyright. You run 4000 copies of it and thereafter pull it from circulation, article reverts to the public domain. There should be an incentive to keep knowledge in publication.

[Kassandra]

Oh! Good on Holder! He can't do that with the banksters so he goes after the interenet. #@!!!&$$$$!

[bunnyv]

Silly Google, monopolies are for big campaign contributors!

In all seriousness, I am glad that the gov is reviewing this case, but I wish they would be more even handed about it (Rupert Murdoch, Ag business, ect.).