The Empire Strikes Out

Bashing Google as «cavalier» in its approach to copyright issues reflects Microsoft’s desire to win badly-needed fans. There is nothing new in this depiction of the search giant. Others have already vilified Google for redistributing copyright-protected books and videos online. Microsoft’s pile-on is an attempt to play the good guy for once. But this image polishing campaign falls short. Granted, Microsoft’s pledge to respect copyrights itself gives the behemoth a rare reputational leg up. It...