Via Marshall Breeding this news release: “In a move that could have far-reaching implications for competition in the library software and technology services industry, SkyRiver Technology Solutions, LLC has filed suit in federal court in San Francisco against OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. The suit alleges that OCLC, a purported non-profit with a membership of 72,000 libraries worldwide, is unlawfully monopolizing the markets for cataloging services, interlibrary lending, and bibliographic data, and attempting to monopolize the market for integrated library systems, by anticompetitive and exclusionary practices. OCLC is a nonprofit Ohio corporation formed in 1967 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. OCLCs stated mission is “furthering access to the worlds information and reducing library costs.” But over the years, OCLC has evolved into a global enterprise that sells numerous commercial products and services to libraries, generating revenues in excess of $200 million annually from 2005 through 2008, tax-free profits averaging over $17 million per year, and amassing a securities portfolio as high as $176 million in 2007. Since 1982 OCLC has used its tax-free profits to acquire 14 for-profit companies.
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.