"This is the end of a two-year battle, a decision without precedent," said the lawyer for Bottin Cartographes, Jean-David Scemmama. "We proved the illegality of (Google's) strategy to remove its competitors... the court recognised the unfair and abusive character of the methods used and allocated Bottin Cartographes all it claimed. This is the first time Google has been convicted for its Google Maps application," he said.Google will appeal the court's decision. The success of BottinCarto's litigation could attract similar complaints from other smaller companies that are competing directly with Google's products, normally offered free of charge. However, it's unlikely that Google will start charging for its map service in the foreseeable future. The service, like many of the company's other products, is supported by advertisements.
Google Guilty For Providing Maps for Free
Google was ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 euros, as well as 500,000 euros in damages and interest, to Bottin Cartographes by a French court on Tuesday. Bottin Cartographes accused Google for being anti-competitive by providing Google Maps for free to some businesses in France, a service BottinCarto also provides for a fee. The French mapping company asserted that Google's driving competitors, like itself, out of business, with the 'anti-competitive' act: