Intellectual Property

Pryor Cashman partner Jeffrey Johnson, who is experienced in the transactional aspects of technology and intellectual property exploitation, was once again called upon by E-Commerce Times reporter Erika Morphy to offer his expert opinion on the ongoing battle between Microsoft and Google in her June 27, 2007 article entitled “Does Google Have Another Move in Vista Chess Game?”

Although a U.S. District Court Judge had declined to entertain a petition by Google to extend Microsoft’s antitrust agreement with federal and state governments beyond its November 2007 expiration date, Johnson commented that “Google will continue to be a thorn in Microsoft's side by redoubling its efforts to enlist European regulators in its cause and turning to state regulators in the U.S. to go where the Department of Justice would not.” According to Johnson, Google will be able to find at least one ambitious state attorney general who decides that this is an opportunity to build a reputation.

Johnson, when asked about the international ramifications of the Justice Department’s rejection of Google’s petition, noted that in his view, “European regulators have often picked up the cudgel when the Department of Justice puts it down. This is because Europe has long been – and likes to be perceived as – a body that is more willing than the U.S. to use government power to protect the markets from anticompetitive behavior, and less willing to trust 'market forces' to do that job.”

There was one possible equalizer, commented Johnson, which is that Google is no longer perceived as a champion of the little guy. “Rather, Google is now perceived as more of an equal to Microsoft," Johnson concluded, "and a potential bully in its own right.”

To read the entire article, please click here.  To read a follow-up story entitled "Is 'Sicko' Post a Chink in Google's Armor", also containing commentary by Johnson, please click here.