Here we go again… The Associated Press (AP) is suing news aggregation site Moreover and parent company VeriSign, claiming copyright infringement for, among other things, linking to the AP news without permission (here’s the complaint in PDF format). In an awesome bit of newsbot irony, you can read all the gory details via Reuters.
A new video, apparently leaked and intended to orient new Googlers about the Google Reader application, has shed some new light on Google’s plans in the feed and social space, as well as providing some stats on Google Reader itself. Leaked Google Video Discusses Google Reader, Social Efforts from Google Blogoscoped is an excellent, detailed […]
Perfect 10 has issued a press release announcing it is now going after Microsoft for copyright infringement over including Perfect 10’s images in Live Image Search. Norm Zada, Perfect 10’s president said: Microsoft is showing tens of thousands of extremely valuable celebrity images, along with Perfect 10 images, without authorization, which it obtains from hundreds […]
More parties join Google copyright lawsuit from Reuters reports that eight more parties have joined the class action copyright lawsuit against Google’s YouTube. As we reported earlier, the lawsuit that English soccer’s Premier League Ltd and music publisher Bourne & Co have against YouTube is now beginning to get more support from other companies. Some […]
Google, Others Contest Copyright Warnings from the Wall Street Journal reports the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which includes Google and Microsoft, are filing a complaint with the FCC about how some content companies are taking their copyright warnings a bit too far. The CCIA would like the FCC to require these content companies, […]
Google takes swipe at Viacom, talks social networks from Reuters reports Google CEO Eric Schmidt as saying “Viacom is a company built from lawsuits, look at their history.” Schmidt said this while being asked questions at a hotel bar at the 25th annual Allen & Co. “moguls meeting.” Schmidt added, “Look who they hired as […]
Watchdog group flags top pirated films on Google Video from News.com covers a report by the National Legal & Policy Center named Is Google Promoting Video Piracy? In this report, they documented fifty cases of movies and other copyrighted material being uploaded and accessible via Google Video for free. Some examples include Spiderman III, 300 […]
The Saboteurs Of Search from Forbes has been getting some buzz from around the search industry. In short, the article interviews two SEOs about how they can potentially use “negative SEO” tactics to harm a site in Google.
The Google Blog has posted about the video copyright identification tool the company is developing. They reference the Reuters article we mentioned in our YouTube Ready To Test “Fingerprinting” Video Tool. The Google post also gives us more insight into the technology and process of how this will potentially work. It appears that copyright holders […]
YouTube to test video ID with Time Warner, Disney from Reuters reports that Google’s YouTube is ready to begin testing their video fingerprinting tool on Time Warner and Walt Disney video content. The tool will be ready for testing in a month and will help prevent copyrighted materials from making its way to YouTube. The […]
Via Techdirt, Book publisher steals Google laptops from The Register covers the jaw-dropping action of Richard Charkin, CEO of Macmillian Publishing, stealing laptops from a Google booth at BookExpo America to try and prove a point about Google "stealing" books for its book search service. Blogged Charkin: Our justification for this appalling piece of criminal […]
Google’s Eric Schmidt: Viacom’s lawsuit is ‘just a mistake’ from News.com reports that when Walt Mossberg questioned Eric Schmidt about Viacom suing YouTube for $1 billion earlier this, year, Google’s CEO responded that “it was probably just a mistake.” Of course, Mr. Mossberg was not satisfied with that answer. He then probed Mr. Schmidt on […]
Court ends ruling halting Google sex thumbnails from Reuters covers the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifting a preliminary injunction against Google over showing thumbnail images. In February 2006, a lower court ruled in favor of Perfect 10, which claimed Google violated copyright law by displaying thumbnails of images from its web site.
The legal issues for Google’s YouTube continue. Here are some select stories over the past few days on YouTube and more legal issues Google has to deal with. NBC lines up against YouTube in copyright case from News.com reports that NBC Universal and Viacom requested in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to file […]
Belgian newspapers that sued Google to be removed from its index are now back in, having agreed to use the commonly-accepted blocking standards that they initially rejected as not being legal. Google and the group representing the papers, Copiepresse, have issued a joint statement. That’s below, along with a look at how this is a […]
After a grassroots revolt by Digg users, Digg has decided to stop censoring posts about an HD-DVD decryption number used by the industry-backed Advanced Access Content System to protect HD-DVDs. The AACS claims that anyone publishing the number may be violating US laws against circumvention of copy protection. How the story unfolded below, plus more […]
Google has responded to the copyright infringement case filed against it by Viacom over video content on YouTube. Key takeaway? Google says the DMCA Safe Harbor provisions protect it from liability and wants a jury trial to prove its innocence. Several sources have covered the story already, so I’ll do a round-up of what’s being […]
China court orders Yahoo China to curb music links from Reuters reports Beijing’s No. 2 Intermediate Court has ordered Yahoo China to remove “links to free Web sites offering music-downloads.” In addition, Yahoo China has to pay 200,000 yuan ($27,200 US) “facilitating distribution” of this music. Yahoo China said they will be appealing this decision.
Schmidt says YouTube ‘very close’ to filtering system from News.com reports that Google CEO Eric Schmidt says his company is extremely close to launching the much anticipated but very delayed content identification system.
The most significant copyright case against Google News, that filed by Agence France-Presse back in March 2005, has now ended. Google has signed a licensing agreement with AFP that settles the suit. News from the AFP here. The statement from both companies has the usual spin that this is about "new" uses rather than Google […]
Is Google Too Powerful? from BusinessWeek is a fresh look at an old topic on Google’s continued growth and power. A key part of the BusinessWeek’s article: Googlezon, GoogleWorld, just plain Google—whatever you call it, it’s scaring the wits out of everyone from the power lunchers of Hollywood to Madison Avenue ad moguls to Silicon […]
Belgian company loses lawsuit against Google from IT World reports that Google has won a suit brought against them by ServersCheck, a Belgian company. The company complained that the Google Suggest feature was helping people find pirated versions of its software.
Viacom Sued Over YouTube Parody Removal from the Associated Press reports that Viacom has been sued by several activist groups for allegedly forcing YouTube to remove a video of “The Colbert Report.” But Viacom says it never made such a request. The suit was filed in part by Electronic Frontier Foundation and Stanford Law School’s […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Yesterday, news came out about Viacom suing Google for $1 billion over alleged video copyright infringement on YouTube. With some dust settling, I thought it would be helpful to recap some of the analysis out there. I’m pulling this roundup mostly from coverage you’ll find on Techmeme. Come along, and we’ll go through the official […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Viacom in $1 bln copyright suit vs Google, YouTube from Reuters reports that Viacom Inc. has confirmed they will be suing Google over “massive intentional copyright infringement” for $1 billion. The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, after claiming “a great deal of unproductive negotiation” […]
Mark Cuban’s Magnolia Pictures Subpoenas Google over Pirated Videos from Google Watch reports that Magnolia Pictures, Mark Cuban’s film studio, has subpoenaed Google for the identities of those who uploaded his videos to YouTube. Cuban told Reuters: "We don’t expect to get valid user information," but if he does that he will ask the copyright […]
Yahoo! China sued for alleged copyright breach at Reuters reports that Yahoo China has been sued by Warner Music Group Corp. and other music giants for linking to “unlicensed music.” The case was filed in early January by “11 companies and seeks damages of 5.5 million yuan ($710,686).” In November of last year, music publishers […]
Last October, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer gave us a taste of how Microsoft was going to position Google as a copyright leech. Today, Microsoft launched a full-out assault on the company. Google deserves some of this, no doubt. But the idea as Microsoft as some altruistic copyright savior deserves some critical analysis, as well. Below, I’ll dissect Microsoft’s slams against […]
Reuters reports that Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt said they will be releasing anti-piracy technologies for YouTube “very soon.” Schmidt said the much delayed content identification system “is not far away.” It makes sense that this is one of Google’s “highest priorities.” Now what about search? ;-) Postscript: Mercury News reports Google has contracted a 3rd […]
News.com reports that Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) posted a video over at YouTube named Were You Caught in the Viacom Takedown? In that video the EFF is asking those who have been falsely accused of posting Viacom copyrighted content on YouTube to contact them. As we reported the other week with YouTube Pulls Videos That […]
A Belgium court has found that Google did violate copyright when including material from several Belgian newspapers in its search index. Google may have to pay a fine, but the ruling is far more positive for the company. Google can continue to index content without explicit permission. NOTE: The story is developing, so I will […]
Media Firms Say Google Benefited From Film Piracy [paid sub. required] by the Wall Street Journal reports that Google has been accused of profiting from pirated movies. Specifically, there are two web sites that allegedly offered pirated movies. Google is said to have supported them in part by an ad rep suggesting they bid on […]
Friday I reported that Google said they would comply with a demand from Viacom to remove content from YouTube. But how did Viacom determine what was infringing? By way of Techmeme, Jim Moore reports his video of a Sunday night dinner seems to have been yanked due to Viacom simply searching for their trademarks, rather […]
News is just coming out that Viacom, the parent company of MTV and Comedy Central, is demanding Google-owned YouTube to remove all of Viacom’s videos. Reuters.com has a brief article explaining that about “100,000 video clips from Viacom-owned properties including MTV Networks and BET has been asked to be removed.” Viacom reportedly claims “1.2 billion […]
Steve Bryant broke the story that Fox subpoenaed both Google owned YouTube and LiveDigital for the name of the individual who uploaded the full four hours of the premier of 24. The premier was reportedly posted prior to the live airing of the show and Fox reportedly found out about it on the 8th of […]
Yahoo Denies Violating Belgian Copyright Law at the Wall Street Journal gives us insight into how Yahoo will be handling the legal threat by Belgian newspapers to sue Yahoo over violating copyright laws. Yahoo has claimed that they did not violate any copyright laws for “publishing snippets and links” to their newspapers. Yahoo released a […]
YouTube software threat to Google plans by the Financial Times shows that an anticipated software release by YouTube to crack down on pirated videos with an “content identification system” software was delayed. The content identification system is technology that YouTube has been testing for months now that will better enable them to fight piracy by […]
Australian court rules against MP3 link site from News.com covers how an Australian court has decided that linking to some content can be illegal, in the right circumstances. In the right circumstances! That part is important. It’s easy to read the headline and come away thinking that search engines (or anyone, potentially) are going to […]