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Summary: Jenner & Block and their client the Motion Picture Association of America are accusing Google of overstepping themselves in issuing subpoenas.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and their legal representatives, Jenner & Block, have both fired back against Google, as of Monday. Google, in their foray against Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, hope to establish that Hood was influenced into taking on the tech company through the efforts of Jenner & Block, the MPAA, and also the Digital Citizens Alliance. Jenner & Block, meanwhile, claim they were willing to share all documents exchanged with Hood regarding Google, and that therefore their efforts did not amount to “anti-Google” lobbying. Only, they say Google is asking for too much, seeking internal documents exchanged within the MPAA and between them and their attorneys.
“Google demands documents that the attorney general never saw, and that instead include the internal deliberations of the MPAA, its communications with its members, and the legal advice of Jenner, as well as communication with others similarly aggrieved by Google’s conduct, on the misguided theory that such documents somehow are probative of Attorney General Hood’s intent,” wrote Jenner & Block partner David Handzo.
This amounts to intimidation, Jenner & Block feel, saying their documents are protected by attorney-client privilege and the First Amendment.
“The most fundamental purpose of these subpoenas is to send a message to anyone who dares to seek government redress for Google’s facilitation of unlawful conduct: If you and your attorneys exercise their First Amendment right to seek redress from a government official, Google will come after you. The court should not allow Google abuse of the litigation process.”
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The ultimate issue behind all these subpoenas, and Jenner’s attempt to get a judge to block them, is Google’s wrangling with the MPAA about third-party content that appears in the Google search and in Google’s YouTube, including third-party content such as copyrighted movies.
The Digital Citizens Alliance also filed papers Monday urging the judge to dismiss the subpoenas.
News Source: National Law Journal
