In 2007, Viacom filed a $1 billion lawsuit alleging Google is liable for the intentional infringement of thousands of copyrighted works on YouTube. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court (SDNY) Judge Louis Stanton granted summary judgment in favor of Google. Viacom argued the search company had actual knowledge of infringing activity on YouTube or was generally [...]

Japanese far right blocks dolphin hunting documentary “Noisy rallies, online slanders, intimidating phone calls and veiled threats of violence” are compelling theaters into canceling showings of The Cove. The documentary depicts dolphin hunting and warns of high levels of mercury in fish — “a disturbing disclosure in this seafood-loving nation.” From NYT. Google backs down [...]

I was just having a conversation about the joy of vintage NES clones and now this. The Tetris Company, LLC, licensee of various Tetris copyrights and Tetris trademark, sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice Tuesday demanding the removal of 35 games from the Android Market: Google’s facilitation of the distribution, without permission, [...]

Google’s effort to create a digital library is once again under legal scrutiny. The Open Book Alliance issued a study detailing how the proposed Google Book Settlement violates international laws and treaties. The report, compiled by notable intellectual property attorney Cynthia Arato, notes, if approved, the settlement would grant Google automatic rights to exploit digitally [...]

The China Written Works Copyright Society (CWWCS) is the latest in a string of domestic and international groups to criticize Google’s effort to create a digital library. While it hails from a country that flippantly enforces international copyrights, the group is the first Chinese entity to publicly criticize the Google project and also encourages drastic [...]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel took the opportunity to promote international co-operation for copyright protection prior to the Frankfurt Book Fair. In her weekly video podcast, the Chancellor criticized Google’s digital library as creating a serious threat to copyright holders on the internet. Said Merkel, “The German government has a clear position: copyrights have to be [...]

Google announced Thursday its partnership with On Demand, the maker of the Espresso Book Machine. The machine is capable of printing and binding an entire book in about 5 minutes, and retails for more than $75,000. More here.

Apparently agreeing with recent criticism of the deal, the Department of Justice  urged a federal court on Friday to reject Google’s disputed settlement with book authors and publishers. The class action settlement in The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc. as proposed, could potentially lead to copyright infringements. As such, the Department, proposed [...]