On the heels of news that 4 US states and the US Federal Trade Commission are ramping up antitrust investigations into Google comes news that a France based ISP company involved with search is filing against Google in the Commercial Court of Paris to seek damages of $421 million for what it calls unfair competition.
1plusV claims Google has burrows its sites a number of times, once even going so far as blacklisting them. By making those search solutions unfindable, 1plusV claims, Google misused its market dominance, effectively killing 1plusV's search solutions and depriving them of income.
Google holds roughly 90% of the search market in Europe.
While another similar case is ongoing, 1plusV would not benefit from the outcome of it.
Google Distracted
Some of these cases may take a year, if not longer, before they come to fruition. Several are expected to end without legal charges made, nor legal action taken.
The actual problem is that the mounting number of cases form a huge distraction for the company. Meanwhile the future cannot feel but uncertain to both investors and people within the company: what is going to happen when, where?