Google and Microsoft are about to have one more thing in common: getting bombarded by lawsuits. An old nemesis of Microsoft is now after Google, making many legal demands that were made against Microsoft, such as breaking the company up. Granted, the attacks on Microsoft didn’t do all that much damage, and the Redmond giant is facing more challenge thanks to Google, of all vendors, than anything else.
Still, a company even the size of Google is inevitably distracted by this much litigation and it can cause the company to take its eye off the ball or in some way miss out on execution. So can Google continue to execute despite the legal headaches? Mike Elgan takes a look.
A Santa Monica, Calif.-based consumer group called Consumer Watchdog has called on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate and take action against Google. One “remedy” being suggested is the break up of Google into multiple companies.
Sound familiar?
One of the lawyers involved in a press conference held to announce the group’s call to action was Gary Reback, who is most famous for leading the anti-trust charge against Microsoft in the late 1990s. Reback is also founder of the Open Book Alliance, which exists to oppose organizations — especially Google — which seek to “monopolize” control of digital books. Reback is out to get Google. But he’s not the only one.