Back in July I suggested that, despite Google’s attempts to prove a Yahoo deal would not create a monopoly, the perception of a monopoly would likely scuttle the deal. Today, we learn that the Department of Justice was just 3 hours away from filing antitrust charges against Google: “We were going to file the complaint at a certain time during the day,” says Litvack, who rejoins Hogan & Hartson today. “We told them we were going to file the complaint at that time of day. Three hours before, they told us they were abandoning the agreement.” “It would have ended...
Google abandoned [its deal with Yahoo] not because pressing ahead with it “risked” a protracted legal battle, but because it guaranteed one. I wrote that on Nov. 6, following the official dissolution of Google’s (GOOG) proposed advertising partnership with Yahoo (YHOO). Turns out the guarantee to which I referred was an ironclad one. Sanford Litvack, the attorney who would have been lead counsel in the event of a government antitrust case against Google, tells American Lawyer Daily that the Dept. of Justice was literally hours away from suing the company when it bailed on the deal. “We were going...
When Google pulled out of its proposed search advertising deal with Yahoo last month, it was chief legal counsel David Drummond who made the announcement. He cited concerns of a “protracted legal battle,” but only now do we learn that the Justice Department was only three hours away from filing an antitrust lawsuit to block the deal. Sandy Litvack, the prosecutor hired by the justice Department to head up the case, tells Am Law Daily: We were going to file the complaint at a certain time during the day. We told them we were going to file the complaint...
I have always strongly maintained that any security related software; whether it be anti-virus, spyware or malware protection, should be a core part of any operating system. Much of the core components like the Windows Kernel32 has always had a weak spot in that it had to provide hooks to allow third party vendor access into this core so their products could work. This is why there was such a stink raised before Vista was release. At that point Microsoft wanted to totally lock down the Kernel from any outside access through PatchGuard. The problem is that security venders got...
LG, Sharp and Chunghwa have agreed to plead guilty. The crime: Coordinating higher prices on flat-screen LCD displays sold to Apple, Dell, Motorola and others. The Department of Justice's antitrust division claims the three companies held meetings and traded messages in order to agree on higher prices for the displays. The DOJ's press release has full details. (Illustration by Plasma.com)...
Now that the feds won't press charges against former governor Eliot Spitzer for his dalliances with a prostitute (the DOJ did not find public or campaign funds were used for services from the Emperors Club VIP), many believe it was the right decision. A former prosecutor told the Times the "the federal government does not, as a general rule, prosecute johns in prostitution cases." Manhattan DA (and former Spitzer boss) Robert Morgenthau said, "The guy lost his job, apologized and was publicly embarrassed. I don't believe in kicking someone when they're down. It would only be a misdemeanor anyway." Still,...
Verizon-Alltel? Done -- the FCC joined the DOJ and said “OMG U can has buyout.” As BGR reports, they added a few more markets that Verizon will need to pull out of for anti-competitive reasons. So $28 billion dollars gets Verizon bragging rights as the US's largest carrier, bypassing AT&T. The FCC didn't stop there, though. They also approved that whole Sprint-Clearwire deal we told you about in May. It's a little complicated, but the gist is that Clearwire is now an independent company, 51% owned by Sprint, the rest by Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Brighthouse....
With Jerry Yang seeming to beckon Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) back to the bargaining table now that its search ad pact with Google is dead, ad executives speaking in between sessions at Ad:Tech NY think the company should try to right itself instead of seeking another savior. Most ad agency execs I spoke to throughout the day weren't even aware the planned Google (NSDQ: GOOG) partnership had been scuttled. Still, no one was remotely surprised by the news. As for what this means for Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), there was less certainty. One exec, who didn't want to be identified because of...
Looks like it’s fallen to Yahoo President Sue Decker, and not CEO Jerry Yang, to paint a happy face on the collapse of the company’s deal with Google. In an all-hands memo to employees, Decker said there’s really no reason to despair at Yahoo’s (YHOO) uncertain future, because the company’s agreement with Google (GOOG) was “just one of many efforts” it has underway to accelerate its strategy. Decker’s memo, in full: Earlier today we announced that Google has terminated the advertising services agreement Yahoo! and Google announced in June. Yahoo! continues to believe in the benefits of the agreement...
Unbelievable, really, the callousness of Yahoo's top management. Of course this memo from Susan Decker was meant to be leaked, so we are not getting the full picture from these. she sent this out a little after Google (NSDQ: GOOG) withdrew from the ad search deal with Yahoo: "Yahoos, Earlier today we announced that Google has terminated the advertising services agreement Yahoo! (NSDQ: YHOO) and Google announced in June. Yahoo! continues to believe in the benefits of the agreement and we are disappointed that Google has elected to withdraw from the agreement rather than defend it in court. Google notified...
