Google Inc.'s instant message and Internet phone feature, Google Talk, has been hit by patent infringement allegations.

Google Talk is the search giant's combination of instant messaging and VOIP (voice over IP).

Rates Technology Inc (RTI) has brought a case against Google in New York. The patent-holding company claims that two of its patents, dating back to 1991 and 1995, have been infringed. Both relate to technology designed to minimizing the cost of calls over the internet...

Time Warner can buy back shares under pending $1 billion deal

Google Inc., the online media giant, will be able to sell its pending 5 per cent stake in Time Warner Inc.'s AOL internet unit as early as July 2008 according to Google's recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The search advertising company should see a quick turnaround for its $1 billion investment in Time Warner's AOL, as SEC filings from Google indicate.

Web search leader Google Inc. said that it may not raise its small stake in China's top search engine Baidu.com, even as competition rises in the fast growing sector.

Google owns 2.6 percent of Baidu, and was believed to be seeking to boost its stake prior to the Chinese company's hugely successful initial public offering in August.

We have a very small stake in the company, which is a strategic investment that was made a while back, but as far as I know there aren't any plans beyond that, Daniel Alegre, the director of international Websearch & Syndication, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

Online Search Engine Google to Open New Research Facility in Pittsburgh
Internet search provider Google Inc. said it will open a research and development facility in Pittsburgh next year and has chosen a Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor to run it.

The facility will be charged with creating software search tools for Google. It is expected to create as many as 100 new high-tech jobs in the Pittsburgh area over the next few years, said Craig Nevill-Manning, director of Google's New York engineering office.