DOJ opens Google publishing deal inquiry

The DoJ is opening an anti-trust inquiry into Google’s settlement with authors and book publishers, a deal whose execution was delayed by an agreement just this week.

The concern being voiced is that the deal effectively gives Google an exclusive right to index and support searching of millions of books, thus giving it a unique (and some say unfair) market advantage. Google is becoming the “Microsoft of our age” in terms of legal issues and for the same reason; Microsoft and Google both faced a need to extend and exploit a basic brand into adjacent areas for continued revenue growth. While Google CEO Eric Schmidt is an Obama insider, the Administration will have to be very careful not to create appearances of a rigged process.