On July 29, 2010 SkyRiver Technology Solutions filed an antitrust lawsuit against OCLC. This page provides resources related to the lawsuit. This page aims to gather resources relevant to this event.
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.
On July 29, SkyRiver Technology Solutions and Innovative Interfaces, Inc. filed suit against OCLC, alleging anticompetitive practices. We at OCLC believe the lawsuit is without merit, and we will vigorously defend the policies and practices of the cooperative. OCLC’s General Counsel, working with trial counsel, will respond to this regrettable action by SkyRiver and Innovative Interfaces following procedures and timetables dictated by the court. This process will likely take months or even years, not days.[continue...]
SkyRiver today publicly announces the launch of its new bibliographic utility service. Already in use in both public and academic libraries, SkyRiver provides a clear, low-cost alternative for cooperative cataloging.
Bibliographic services company SkyRiver Technology Solutions, joined by library automation company Innovative Interfaces, filed a lawsuit yesterday in federal court in San Francisco against OCLC, alleging a litany of anticompetitive business practices.
The move initiates a major legal battle between OCLC, a worldwide library membership organization, and two companies owned and founded by Jerry Kline.
It also represents the culmination of concerns expressed by some vendors and librarians that OCLC has used its tax-exempt status to behave not only as a giant library utility but a hard-nosed business. For example, if successful, the lawsuit could open up OCLC's WorldCat database to commercial competitors. read more...
A new company called SkyRiver has launched a bibliographic utility, directly challenging long-dominant OCLC. Over the last 18 years, strategic acquisitions by OCLC have narrowed competition, but SkyRiver—founded by Jerry Kline, the owner and co-founder of Innovative Interfaces—aims to expand the market and offer an alternative bibliographic utility for cataloging that could save libraries up to 40 percent off their expenditures for bibliographic services.
SkyRiver, a new company delivering bibliographic services in competition with OCLC, formally announced its launch in early October 2009. The company offers a suite of software and services that compete with the cataloging services of OCLC. The service includes a bibliographic database of MARC records, a cataloging client, and a set of services for record delivery and enhancement. The SkyRiver database has initially beenpopulated with bibliographic and authority records from a variety of sources including the Library of Congress, the British Library as well as with records from the current cataloging activities of a broad set of libraries. The service includes record delivery for those not immediately available in the database and notification when enhanced records become available. SkyRiver’s goal is to offer a competitive product at a subscription cost around 40 percent lower than what libraries would otherwise pay to OCLC.