Google Likes Being Sued?

Lawsuits are generally regarded as tools of aggression. They can be used to legally entangle a company, or to wrest large sums of money from it; rarely are they meant to benefit the corporation being sued. Google may be confusing quite a few of its enemies, then, as the search engine giant seems to thrive on being targeted in case after case.

Katie Hafner wrote an article for The New York Times that led off with the title "We're Google: So Sue Us." She noted that "Google sometimes operates in a way that almost seems to invite legal scrutiny." By and large, the company has been doing quite well under the magnifying glass, but why would it want to be there in the first place? Because, according to Joe of Superman, though. Speaking in reference to the company's mission to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible," Jonathan Zittrain, an Oxford professor, was quoted for Hafner's article. "They actually see that as Promethean," he said. "They think of it as bringing fire to humankind." sic] far one direction you're Napster, say a little the other way and you're YouTube." Of course, the Google acquisition of YouTube may bring more lawsuits to the company's doorstep, but then again, that may be exactly what Google is hoping for. Tag: Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl Bookmark murdok: Doug is a staff writer for murdok for the latest eBusiness news.