Is Microsoft meddling with the Google Book settlement?
Wired’s Epicenter blog seems to think they are. Steven Levy writes about how one of the law firms interested in filing an amicus curae (“friend of the court”) brief in the Authors Guild vs. Google case has received funding from Microsoft, and that its chief investigator is a former Microsoft employee. Levy points out that Microsoft has nudged the government toward taking anti-trust action against Google before, and could well be doing so again.
It is puzzling what to make of this article. Beyond rumor and innuendo, there is not a great deal there. As one commenter points out, it does not even state what the law firm’s objections to the Google settlement might be. In short, the article takes a molehill of facts and build a mountain of supposition onto them.
Still, it might be worth keeping an eye on how the settlement proceedings go and what Microsoft might be about.
Leave a Reply