Confirms Google Books Inquiry formally confirmed by the U.S. Justice Department

Yesterday the U.S Department of Justice confirmed that it is investigating the terms related to settlement of Google Book Search. This was not a very important news for the media because it was known in April only and the news was confirmed when the DOJ sent formal requests (known as investigative demands”) to many book publishers.

Yesterday there were further developments in the field. The DOJ provided the court with procedural notification. The notification was that the U.S. is exploring the anti-trust dimensions of Google settlement. The hearing which is supposed to be a ‘fairness hearing’ will be on the 7th of October. U.S. has been given time till the 19th of September to present their side in written. This is a very small time interval given to the U.S.

The formal letter form the DOJ to the court had two paragraphs. The first paragraph has a mention of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This act helps in increasing the competition and avoiding consolidation of power or control over markets. The main question asked by DOJ is whether Google has exclusive rights to which only they have access. There are arguments from the side of some legal scholars that this happens at times, especially in the case of orphan books. Google has denied this. The anti-trust investigation will enquire about the extend of rights Google has, on the books, the scanned material, the way that effects the prices, and the extend to which third parties can access the material.

Because of the lawsuit that is underlying, Google cannot walk away like it did during the Google-Yahoo paid search deal. This time the company cannot avoid a legal battle. The outcomes can be two ways: approval of the existing settlement is one and the other one is modification of selected terms.

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