Google’s influence is pervasive, and the outcomes of the many legal actions pending against the company will reverberate in many quarters. Given Google’s size and strength, the resolution of these challenges will affect social media, search engines and the entire digital world.
Courts and regulators have recently made life more complicated for Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), impacting millions of Google users worldwide. Notwithstanding Google’s US$29 billion revenue performance in 2010, new challenges continue to plague the company.
Judge Rejects Google’s Book Settlement
As you may know, Google planned to digitize millions of books. In 2005, a copyright infringement class action was filed, and a settlement was reached recently. After receiving an avalanche of comments from around the world regarding the Google Amended Settlement Agreement (ASA) in the class action, U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin rejected the ASA for many reasons.