• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, August 4, 2009

The resignation of Google's CEO Eric Schmidt from Apple's board may have come a little too late. A walk down memory lane may jog some insight into why the Federal Trade Commission says it will continue its investigation into the interrelationship between the two companies.

The FTC bureau of competition director Richard Feinstein released a statement earlier this week that says: "We have been investigating the Google/Apple interlocking directorates issue for some time and commend them for recognizing that sharing directors raises competitive issues, as Google and Apple increasingly compete with each other."

"I have very much enjoyed my time on the Apple board," Schmidt says in a statement. "It's a fantastic company. But as Apple explained today, we've agreed it makes sense for me to step down now."

Casey Carey, VP of products at analytics firm Webtrends, says that years ago when Steve Jobs first came back to Apple, as the company teetered between success or failure, there were talks of a merger between the two companies. Years later, the competition between Apple and Google is clear, he says, pointing to Apple's online presence.

Both Apple and Google have become media companies: Apple with music, videos and movies on iTunes; Google with digitizing books and videos on YouTube. "It makes sense for Schmidt to step down," Carey says. "I don't think this incident was the cause. I think it was more a symptom of increased competition that drove it to the forefront."

But it's not just Schmidt who has caught the attention of the FTC. Reviewing the board's directors from both companies reveals that some of the board members provide guidance to both Apple and Google. For example, former U.S. VP Al Gore, a director of Apple since March of 2003, has served as senior advisor to Google.

Gore also has been a partner in Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, whose partner John Doerr resides on Google's board. And, former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson is on the boards of both Apple and Google.

The FTC has spent months investigating whether the seats held by Google's Schmidt and Genentech's Levinson on the boards of both Apple and Google violate antitrust law. Reuters cites David Turetsky, a former deputy assistant attorney general for antitrust under the Clinton administration, as suggesting that Levinson's dual position could be why the FTC is leaving the probe open.