J. Stiglitz, A. Jayadev, here.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Abuse Of IP Rights Under China's Antitrust Rules: Recent Cases Have A Potentially Serious Impact
McDermott Will & Emery, here.
Microsoft and others file EU antitrust complaint over Android app bundling
TheVerge.com, here.
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Two central allegations, it seems:
I
- Android is the dominating mobile operating system (running in 70% of units shipped at the end of 2012)
- Android phone makers wanting to include "must-have" Google apps such as Maps or YouTube are required "to pre-load an entire suite of Google mobile services and to give them prominent default placement on the phone"
- Other apps and services providers are disadvantaged
- Google’s Android is put in control of consumer data on a majority of smartphones shipped today.
II
- Google distributes Android open source operating system for free, i.e. below cost
- this makes it difficult for other providers of operating systems to recoup investments in competing with Google’s dominant mobile platform.
Fairsearch's 2011 White Paper indirectly provides some additional background information to the allegations, see e.g. p. 35: Google is also attempting to monopolize mobile search and search advertising through the Android operating system...According to some, Google is “not trying to make a profit on Android or [its web-browser] Chrome . . . .In essence [by giving Android away for free], they are not just building a moat; Google is also scorching the earth for 250 miles around the outside of the castle to ensure no one can approach it"(reference omitted).
An overview of the other competition complaints filed by Google's competitors (source: Fairsearcheurope.eu, here):
Read also Groklaw's take on the allegations, here.
---------
Two central allegations, it seems:
I
- Android is the dominating mobile operating system (running in 70% of units shipped at the end of 2012)
- Android phone makers wanting to include "must-have" Google apps such as Maps or YouTube are required "to pre-load an entire suite of Google mobile services and to give them prominent default placement on the phone"
- Other apps and services providers are disadvantaged
- Google’s Android is put in control of consumer data on a majority of smartphones shipped today.
II
- Google distributes Android open source operating system for free, i.e. below cost
- this makes it difficult for other providers of operating systems to recoup investments in competing with Google’s dominant mobile platform.
Fairsearch's 2011 White Paper indirectly provides some additional background information to the allegations, see e.g. p. 35: Google is also attempting to monopolize mobile search and search advertising through the Android operating system...According to some, Google is “not trying to make a profit on Android or [its web-browser] Chrome . . . .In essence [by giving Android away for free], they are not just building a moat; Google is also scorching the earth for 250 miles around the outside of the castle to ensure no one can approach it"(reference omitted).
An overview of the other competition complaints filed by Google's competitors (source: Fairsearcheurope.eu, here):
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