Google Hires Federal Trade Commission Intellectual Property Expert Michel
Google Inc. (GOOG), under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission for its dominance of Internet searches, has hired one of the commission's top intellectual property officials, Suzanne Michel, the company said.
Context & Ripple Effects
The hire is the second step in a deliberate build-out of Google's regulatory bench. In May 2011 the company was reported seeking an antitrust lawyer as scrutiny mounted, and in June the FTC escalated by serving subpoenas in a broad probe of its search dominance — so bringing an FTC intellectual-property official in-house reads less like routine recruiting and more like staffing for the investigation itself.
It also lands against a pattern of friction with the commission beyond search: in late 2010 a former FTC employee filed a complaint over Google's privacy practices, meaning Michel arrives knowing the agency's internal workings at a moment when it is probing Google on multiple fronts.
First-order effects
- Google gains insider command of how the FTC evaluates IP and patent-adjacent arguments — directly relevant to the search probe and to analysts' unconfirmed suggestion that it may be wiser to settle its Oracle patent fight than go to trial.
- The FTC loses one of its top intellectual-property officials to the very company under investigation, thinning its own expertise mid-probe.
Second-order effects
- Rivals and critics are likely to argue the move shows why the antitrust case needs independent evidence rather than company cooperation, sharpening the political framing around the subpoenas served in June 2011.
- With enforcers in both the U.S. and European Union investigating its practices, Google faces pressure to replicate this hiring strategy across jurisdictions, pulling regulator-side talent toward the companies being regulated.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the revolving door between competition authorities and their largest targets becomes a structural feature of big-tech regulation: agencies lose experienced staff precisely when cases peak, and enforcement capacity becomes something well-funded defendants can bid away.
The trend: Major tech firms facing antitrust probes are absorbing regulator-side legal expertise in-house, turning investigations into a talent market where the defendant can outbid the enforcer.