Chillin'Competition

The big news this week was Almunia’s declaration that settlement talks with Google were making progress.

And that the Commission was still following the same four leads it was following 7 months ago:

• Preferential placement of Google’s vertical search services on general search results;
• Unpreferential placement of third party content on Google’s vertical search services;
• Exclusivity agreements for the delivery of Google search advertisements on other websites; and
• Restrictions in the portability of advertising campaigns rom its platform AdWords to the platforms of competitors.

But what really struck me is the following. Almunia declared that he “expect[ed] Google to come forward with a detailed commitment text in January 2013″.

The other day in a post, I expressed compassion for Microsoft’s antitrust lawyers. Today, all my thoughts are with the poor Google’s lawyers. They likely will spend an awful a busy Xmas break preparing Almunia’s Xmas gift.

Yet another reason why I am glad to no longer work for Biglaw.

Xmas at work? Not for me!