infringement

WASHINGTON--Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said they want Google to appear before them to discuss upcoming antipiracy legislation as well as accusations that the search company profits from illegal file sharing.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the committee's chairman, invited a Google, Verizon, the Authors Guild and other companies with a stake in the online copyright fight to appear to give their views about a controversial bill Leahy is preparing to reintroduce in the Senate this year. The legislation would hand the government sweeping powers to take down alleged pirate sites and attempt to cut off their revenue sources. … Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Torrents and the founders of The Pirate Bay won't be anywhere near the marbled halls of the U.S. Capitol, but their influence will play a part during a hearing taking place here today before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the committee's chairman, has called the hearing to garner testimony from some of the companies that could be asked to accept greater responsibility in the government's antipiracy efforts. Leahy is expected to reintroduce legislation into the Senate this year called the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), and he's … Read more

Supporters of an antipiracy bill introduced into the Senate last year appear ready to put some pressure on one of the legislation's chief opponents.

Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, was instrumental in blocking the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) late last year. COICA was introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and passed in that committee unanimously. But it was derailed when Wyden opposed it. Individual senators can place holds on pending legislation.

Since the legislation was introduced very late in the prior congressional session, Wyden's opposition forced supporters … Read more

The U.S. Senate judiciary committee will take another crack at arming the government with broad antipiracy powers.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the judiciary committee's chairman, said today that the government must take action against "online criminals" who harm American jobs by obtaining the nation's intellectual property without paying for it. Leahy made the statements as he laid out the committee's agenda for this session of Congress.

In September, Leahy introduced legislation called the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which could boast bipartisan support and unanimously passed in the judiciary committee, but failed to … Read more

commentary For nearly a decade, major music and film companies have lamented the loss of revenue and jobs that they blame on illegal file sharing. During that time they have lobbied lawmakers and enforcement agencies for antipiracy help.

But after reading reports from the FBI and Department of Justice about efforts to protect the nation's intellectual property, I was stunned to find so few cases involving online file sharing. Among the "significant" prosecutions the DOJ listed in 2010, only one involved the illegal distribution of digital media over the Web. In April, the DOJ won a conviction … Read more

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has refiled a lawsuit against several major technology companies over claims of patent infringement.

In his revised complaint filed yesterday, Allen alleges that 11 tech companies and retailers--Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, YouTube, eBay, Netflix, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Staples--are violating patents granted to him when he headed Interval Research, a small R&D firm that he started in 1992 and ran until it went out of business in 2000.

Allen initially filed the suit in August in U.S. District Court in Seattle. At the time, Allen's Interval Licensing company--which holds the patents … Read more

MasterCard, is willing to stop processing transactions from sites trafficking in pirated music, movies, games, and other digital copyrighted content.

Lobbyists working for MasterCard have told trade groups from the entertainment sector that the credit card company is supportive of The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, an antipiracy bill introduced into the Senate last September, sources with knowledge of the talks tell CNET.

Backed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and committee member Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah), the bill would authorize the Department of Justice to shut down domain names of U.S.-based … Read more

Nokia won't give Apple a break.

The company filed patent-infringement claims against Apple in the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands today. A total of 13 patents were included in the company's filings, bringing the total to 37 total claims against Apple.

In the U.K. High Court, Nokia charged that Apple violates four patents related to the use of a "touch user interface" and "on-device app stores," among others. The company filed a total of seven patent-infringement claims in two German district courts, charging that in addition to its use of the touch … Read more

Among those who favor less restrictive copyright laws, Google once possessed undeniable street-cred.

When it came to standing up for the right of Internet users to freely exchange information online, the perception was Google would hold the line. The search engine sparred over copyright issues with newspapers, book publishers, recording companies, and big Hollywood studios--even fending off a $1 billion copyright complaint filed against it by Viacom, parent company of MTV. As for enforcement, Google made its position clear: the job of policing the Web for pirated content belonged to copyright owners.

But yesterday, Google's position began to blur. … Read more