Judge Rules In Google Ad Tech Monopoly - Partial Defeat

"The court documents are over here and it says: Moving Plaintiffs assert that Google is foreclosed from relitigating substantially identical issues that were actually and necessarily decided in the E.D. Va. Action under principles of issue preclusion, also known as collateral estoppel. Google opposes these motions on various grounds. For reasons that will be explained, the motions will be granted to the extent indicated and otherwise denied."

"This seems to mean, I am no lawyer, that the core issue is whether a prior victory the U.S. government won against Google in a Virginia court (the E.D. Va. Action) can be used as a shortcut by all the other private companies and individuals suing Google in New York. The judge essentially said "Yes, for many of the key facts, Google already lost, so it can't argue them again.""

"The Products: There are two distinct markets in the ad world: publisher ad servers (software publishers use to manage ad space) and ad exchanges (the auction houses where buyers bid on the ad space). The Scope: These markets are worldwide (excluding countries like China or Iran with restricted internet access). (2) Google's Actions Were Illegal: The judge agreed that Google must accept the finding that it engaged in actions that were designed to protect and maintain its dominant position, which violates antitrust law."

A judge applied issue preclusion to related New York antitrust cases, preventing Google from relitigating core facts already decided in the E.D. Va. government action. The court accepted that two distinct global markets exist: publisher ad servers and ad exchanges, excluding certain restricted countries. The court found that Google engaged in conduct intended to protect and maintain its dominance, including unlawful tying. Plaintiffs in the New York suits can treat many market-definition and conduct findings from the Virginia trial as established facts, narrowing litigation and limiting Google's ability to relitigate those issues.

Read at Search Engine Roundtable