It’s Not Easy Being Google

Well, OK. Last time we checked Google was pulling in $10 billion a quarter (!), so before you take out your world’s smallest violin to join the Pity Party Symphony Chorus — what we really mean to say is: it’s complicated being Google.

One example: look at the numerous legal issues constantly circling the Internet behemoth. Our title and intro are somewhat tongue-in-cheek; fact is, this is interesting stuff. Just from the last few weeks, here’s a taste of what we’ve read from lawyers and law firms on JD Supra:

Texas Sues Google for Documents in Anti-Trust Probe (Looper Reed):

“The Texas Attorney General wants to know if Google gives preference to its own products, like Google Places, over a competitor’s, like Yelp.  Given the market strength of Google, it could create problems…” Read on»

Is It Proper To Say You Google On GOOGLE®? (Mintz Levin IP):

“Elliot claims that Google’s once distinctive mark GOOGLE® has become generic and lacks trademark significance due to its common use as a transitive verb. After losing to Google in UDRP proceedings involving many “Google-related” domain name registrations that he owns, Elliott now seeks a declaratory judgment that his domain names are rightfully his, that they do not infringe any trademark rights Google may own, and that all Google’s registered GOOGLE® marks should be cancelled since ‘google’ is now a common generic word worldwide that means ‘to search the Internet’…” Read on»

The King is Dead! Long Live the King! (Lewis and Roca):

“Essentially, the argument is GOOGLE has become so well-known that people no longer see the mark as distinguishing the source of the service.  When someone says “Just google it,” they aren’t exhorting you to use the GOOGLE search engine, they’re merely telling you to look for something on the Internet and they really don’t care if you’re using Google, Bing, Yahoo! or Ask.  Therefore, GOOGLE has lost its source-identifying ability, or so the argument goes…” Read on»

Copyright Owners Using DMCA To Take Down URLs (Mintz Levin IP):

“The issue remains whether copyright owners should go after search engines or venture capital companies funding the search engines or the websites that facilitate them in the act of copyright infringement… Google was asked to remove 1,825, 442 URLs for copyright violations.” Read on»

Publicizing Privacy Threats, Real and Imagined (Foley Hoag Corporate Social Responsibility):

“The problem with Sen. Schumer’s remarks, as with the ongoing furor over Google Street View, is that they focus an inordinate amount of media and public attention on what in the scheme of things is a very minor threat to privacy. It is true that in the early days of Google Street View, some individuals were the subject of unwelcome attention when they were photographed in places they would rather not be seen in public. But not only has this problem been solved…” Read on»

Oracle v. Google Judge Writes the Book on Software Programming Copyright – For Now, Anyway (Proskauer New Media & Techhnology):

“The trial in the dispute between Oracle and Google over the use of Java technology in the Android operating system is over, and the greatly anticipated ruling on copyright in the Java Application Programming Interface (API) has issued. The court ruled that the elements of the Java API, including the structure, sequence and organization, are not protected by copyright. It is important to note that the court did not rule that no elements of an API may be protected by copyright. Although broad in its implications, the opinion is fact-specific to the Java API…” Read on»

Rest In Peace, Perfect10 v. Google: Epic Soft-Porn Copyright Struggle Finally Dismissed (Foley Hoag Trademark & Copyrights):

“Last month, after eleven years, three Ninth Circuit opinions and 1,212 docket entries in the trial court, soft-porn multimedia company Perfect10, Inc. stipulated to the dismissal of its copyright infringement claims against Google (and others) in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California…” Read on»

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