FTC

Justice Department, Patent Office urge limiting sales bans

Sales injunctions against products found to infringe on patents may not always be in the public's interest and should be employed in very rare instances, the Justice Department and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recommended today.

The departments' joint policy statement echoes the position of the Federal Trade Commission, which last week ruled Google must stop blocking the use of standard essential patents by competitors. The FTC said in June that such bans on imports could cause "substantial harm" to consumers, competition, and innovation.

Companies that hold patents deemed to be industry essential are expected … Read more

Watchdog seeks FTC staff opinion on Google antitrust case

Consumer Watchdog, a group that's accused Google of antitrust misconduct, is trying to find out why the FTC's investigation into the subject resulted in only mild punishment.

The group requested the Federal Trade Commission release its staff's report to detail the situation, according to a letter Consumer Watchdog sent to the commissioners (PDF). The agency's staff prepare such reports then forward them to the five commissioners who vote on what course of action to take.

"I call on you to release the FTC staff report to help make clear what was behind the commission's … Read more

Congressman: Google FTC probe results were leaked illegally

Google settled a major win last week when the Federal Trade Commission announced that after a nearly two-year investigation into the Web giant's business practices the company was absolved of making major changes to its search product.

However, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, seems to believe there was something fishy about the announcement.

The official announcement was made on January 3, but several news sources, including Bloomberg, Reuters, and Politico, got a hold of the results of the investigation the day before it was supposed to be made public. Technically, … Read more

Google dodges FTC's antitrust bullet (week in review)

After a lengthy investigation into Google's business practices by the Federal Trade Commission, the Web giant has agreed to make minor changes to resolve complaints by competitors and advertisers. It avoided any fines.

The commission found that Google's search results were not biased in favor of its own results in a way that was anti-competitive. However, the FTC did rule that Google must stop blocking the use of standard essential patents by competitors. The patents, which it acquired when it purchased Motorola, are used to comply with technical standards.

Google also agreed to remove restrictions on the use … Read more

EU: FTC decision on Google won't affect our case

Google may be free and clear in the U.S. over its search practices, but the European Union still has a thing or two to say.

The European Commission, which is the executive body of the European Union, told Reuters that the FTC settlement with the Internet search giant wouldn't affect own decision-making process, although it has taken note of it.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission yesterday announced a settlement with Google, allowing competitors unhappy with how its search results are displayed to opt out and forcing the company to make some changes to its search practices to … Read more

Gary Reback: FTC blew it with Google decision

Dismayed, yes. Disappointed, to be sure. But Gary Reback, one of Silicon Valley's best known antitrust attorneys, gave no indication today that his hopes for a government antitrust case against Google had been dashed by the FTC's decision today to settle its investigation into the search company with a deal.

Reback, who played a key role mobilizing support in Washington for an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, has urged similar action against Google. As a counsel at the firm Carr & Ferrell LLP, he has argued publicly for the last couple of years about Google's behavior, saying it … Read more

Yelp calls FTC deal with Google a 'missed opportunity'

Yelp, the local listing service that has long been critical of Google's ways, is understandably disappointed with the FTC's settlement with the search giant. Other than a few minor concessions -- which you can read about here -- the government determined that Google's search practices are legal.

"Today's announcements by the FTC validate a number of the concerns we have raised about Google's dominance in the search market and its anti-competitive behavior," Yelp said in a statement. "The closure of the Commission's investigation into search bias by Google without action, however, … Read more

What Google's settlement with the FTC means for users

The Federal Trade Commission announced today that it has completed a nearly two-year investigation into Google's business practices. Here are some of the key takeaways:

On the issue most important to Google, Google won. The most potentially damaging line of inquiry undertaken by the FTC concerned accusations that Google's search results were unfairly biased in favor of its own products. Some critics wanted to see mandated changes to Google algorithms. But after considering a number of approaches, FTC commissioners decided unanimously that Google was not violating any antitrust laws when it comes to search results. For Google, this … Read more

Google settles with FTC over antitrust issues

Google competitors unhappy with the way their search results are displayed on Google search pages will be able to opt out under an agreement announced today by the Federal Trade Commission.

That was perhaps the most significant plank of a multipart agreement announced by the FTC after a lengthy investigation into Google's practices. The agreement will require Google to make minor changes to resolve complaints by competitors and advertisers. It avoided any fines.

At the same time, the FTC voted 5-0 that Google's search results were not biased in favor of its own results in a way that … Read more