Michael Liedtke

May 18, 2007 | Legaltech News

Google's new "universal search" approach shows videos on its main results page, along with photos, books and other content previously separated into different categories. By intermingling different types of Web content on its main result page, Google is betting it can become even more useful to its millions of users.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

June 28, 2006 | Legaltech News

Western Digital Corp. is giving away software to about 1 million customers to settle a class action lawsuit. Consumers alleged the firm's hard drives stored less material than advertised. The free software is made to back up and recover computer files.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

March 15, 2007 | Law.com

Google is adopting new privacy measures to make it more difficult to connect online search requests with the people making them -- a move it believes could prevent showdowns with the government over the data. The company believes it can provide more assurances of privacy by using depersonalized cookies, altering IP addresses and removing key pieces of identifying information from its system every 18 to 24 months.

By Michael Liedtke

5 minute read

June 12, 2007 | Law.com

Google Inc.'s privacy practices are the worst among the Internet's top destinations, according to a watchdog group seeking to intensify the recent focus on how the online search leader handles personal information about its users.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

August 10, 2006 | Law.com

The University of California is joining Google Inc.'s book-scanning project, throwing the weight of another 100 academic libraries behind an ambitious venture that's under legal attack for alleged copyright infringement. The deal marks the biggest expansion of Google's effort since a group of authors and publishers sued last fall. Google plans to show only snippets from copyrighted material -- a "fair use" approach that the company believes is allowed under U.S. law.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

December 21, 2006 | Law.com

Already facing a legal challenge for alleged copyright infringement, Google's crusade to build a digital library has triggered a philosophical debate with an alternative project promising better online access to the world's books, art and historical documents. The latest tensions revolve around Google's insistence on chaining the digital content to its search engine and the libraries that have aligned themselves with the company. Critics favor more open access to the content.

By Michael Liedtke

5 minute read

June 24, 2010 | Law.com

A judge handed Google a key victory Wednesday by rebuffing Viacom's $1 billion lawsuit over alleged copyright abuse by Google's YouTube service. The ruling embraces Google's interpretation of a "safe harbor" law that shields Internet services from copyright infringement claims as long as they promptly remove illegal content when notified of a violation. The ruling was cheered by Internet service providers and free-speech groups who believe the Digital Millennium Copyright Act gives people an outlet to express themselves.

By Michael Liedtke

4 minute read

March 01, 2004 | Law.com

Business software maker Oracle Corp.'s ferocious fight to acquire rival PeopleSoft Inc. is turning into a government showdown now that the U.S. Justice Department has gone to court to block the hostile $9.4 billion bid. Seven states joined Thursday's lawsuit, which contends a combination between Oracle and PeopleSoft would stifle competition in the $20 billion market for business applications software.

By Michael Liedtke

3 minute read

March 25, 2011 | Legaltech News

Google is no longer the twee startup it once was, so it should be no surprise that judicial oversight would be growing. But the additional scrutiny from 2nd Circuit Judge Denny Chin did more than complicate Google's efforts to digitize books -- it touched upon antitrust, copyright, and privacy concerns that may one day curtail Google's online dominance.

By Michael Liedtke

6 minute read

October 04, 2005 | Legaltech News

Google's constant presence in the news and on pundits' lips has the competition -- including Microsoft Corp. -- watching closely. Analysts speculate the firm may be working on ambitious projects, including free nationwide wireless Internet access and a Web-hosted alternative to Microsoft's Windows operating system. Time will tell whether Google succeeds at its plan "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" -- or fail on a scale reminiscent of the dot-com years.

By Michael Liedtke

6 minute read