Advertising

Our network sites seattlepi.com

Blogs

Print thisE-mail this
Yahoo's Google pact cites secret 'opportunities'

Yahoo filed a copy of its search-advertising agreement with Google this afternoon as an exhibit to its quarterly report to the SEC. However, the public version of the 50-page document has been heavily redacted to remove information that the company says it considers confidential.

Particularly intriguing is Section 3, starting on page 19, labeled "Other Business Opportunities." It contains four subsections, each of them presumably describing another business opportunity between the companies, beyond the search-advertising deal. However, three of the four have been redacted entirely. The fourth opportunity, instant-messaging interoperability, has already been disclosed.

I've left a message with a Yahoo spokesman, hoping to find out more, and I'll update this post depending on the response.

Under the deal between the companies, ads from Google's lucrative system would appear next to selected Yahoo search results. Yahoo struck the agreement as an alternative to Microsoft's acquisition bid.

Google and Yahoo are waiting to implement the deal pending a U.S. Justice Department review, although the companies say they don't believe it requires regulatory approval. Microsoft has opposed the agreement on antitrust grounds, because it effectively joins the No. 1 and No. 2 search companies. Yahoo and Google say the deal is non-exclusive, potentially letting Microsoft do something similar with Yahoo.

CNet News.com reported on the filing earlier this afternoon.

During a Congressional hearing last month, Yahoo and Google were chided by U.S. Rep. John Conyers for not allowing him or his staff to see the agreement unless they went to a lawyer's office to view it, promised not to take notes, and signed a non-disclosure deal.

The L.A. Times reported at the time that Conyers said the committee "was given more ready access to the documents surrounding the president's terrorist surveillance program."

Incidentally, Conyers also had a jab for Microsoft during that hearing -- saying in response to its antitrust objections that he "never felt so sorry for poor, little old Microsoft."

Posted by at August 8, 2008 5:07 p.m.
Comments
There are currently no comments for this blog entry.

! Login below to post a comment.

Registered users, log in here
E-mail 
Password 
Remember me
 HELP! I forget my password

Unregistered users, sign up now

Or post anonymously (About this feature)

Your comment (No HTML allowed, use these special codes instead)
Violating our Terms of Service may result in your post being removed.

Special codes
  • [b]selected text[/b] -- Display the selected text in bold.
  • [i]selected text[/i] -- Display the selected text in italics.
  • [link]www.seattlepi.com[/link] -- Creates a link to the url between the link tags.
  • [link title="Seattle Post-Intelligencer"]www.seattlepi.com[/link] -- Creates a link to the url between the link tags, uses title as link text.
  • [mail]newmedia@seattlepi.com[/mail] -- Creates a link to an email address.
Enter the code shown:
What is this?
SUBSCRIBE

RSS
Headline widget

BLOGGER BIO
photo
Joseph Tartakoff: P-I staff reporter
SUBMIT A TIP

E-mail or call 206-448-8221 with tips or ideas

FEATURED COMMENT

PictureQ: Why can't Microsoft buy 'Coolness'? A: Because Coolness has a poison pill in its contract in the event of a Microsoft takeover.
-- Reader on Microsoft to sell line of "softwear"-labeled shirts

MSFT: DAILY TREND

TOPIC: WINDOWS 7

· Microsoft polishes Vista into Windows 7
· Microsoft details Windows 7 features
·
Reviewers mostly applaud Windows 7
· All stories and posts

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

twitter.com/josephtartakoff

    RECOMMENDED READING
    ARCHIVES
    Search this blog

    Recent entries
    · Sony says Microsoft's Xbox 360 is "peddling add-ons"
    · Video: Sing a melody and Microsoft will provide the backup
    · Microsoft announces new search deals with Dell, Verizon
    · Liveblogging Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's CES keynote
    · Microsoft puts search for more Seattle space on hold

    Browse by month
    Browse by category
    LINKS

    Microsoft News
    · Microsoft PressPass
    · Directions on Microsoft
    · WinInsider
    · ActiveWin
    · NetworkWorld: Microsoft
    · Microsoft Research News
    · Channel 9
    · OS News
    · Microsoft SEC filings
    · WinInfo
    · Microsoft Confidential
    · Bink.nu

    Microsoft Blogs
    · Ed Bott
    · Mary Jo Foley
    · Ina Fried
    · LiveSide
    · Emil Protalinski
    · Rafael Rivera Jr.
    · Paul Thurrott
    · Joe Wilcox
    · Long Zheng

    Microsoft Employees
    · Employee Blog Portal
    · S. Somasegar
    · Raymond Chen
    · Dare Obasanjo
    · Brad Abrams
    · Heather Hamilton
    · Chris Anderson
    · Joshua Allen
    · Chris Sells
    · John Porcaro
    · John Montgomery
    · Kevin Schofield
    · Sean Alexander
    · Jobs Blog
    · Harry Pierson
    · Mini-Microsoft

    Technology Blogs
    · Robert Scoble
    · Paul McNamara
    · Dwight Silverman
    · Charlene Li
    · Joel Spolsky
    · Engadget
    · Gizmodo
    · Simon Phipps
    · Paul Andrews
    · Chris Pirillo

    Search-related sites
    · John Battelle
    · Greg Linden
    · Yahoo! Search Blog
    · Live Search Blog
    · Google Blog
    · Search Engine Watch

    Browser-related sites
    · Internet Explorer team
    · mozillaZine
    · Surfin' Safari
    · Browser News

    Antitrust info
    · FindLaw: Microsoft
    · DOJ Microsoft site
    · Microsoft legal site
    · Findings of Fact
    · ComputerWorld Report
    · Sun legal page
    · Dan Kegel's antitrust site

    TECH EVENTS

    · Washington Technology Industry Association
    *all tech events

    ADVERTISING

    Most recent posts
    · Strange Bedfellows: Poll: Palin popularity waning in Alaska
    · Talkin' Hawks: What happened to Rathman?
    · Horsebytes: Should I stay or should I go

    *Would you like to blog for us?

    Advertising

    Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    101 Elliott Ave. W.
    Seattle, WA 98119
    (206) 448-8000

    Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820

    Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
    ©1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Terms of Use/Privacy Policy

    Hearst Newspapers