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Publishers Sue to Halt Google Library Book-Scanning Project

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2005 - 10:27am.
Washington - A trade group of U.S. publishing companies has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against search engine giant Google, over the company's plans to scan the world's books into a searchable Web index. The Association of American Publishers (AAP), whose members include The McGraw-Hill Companies, Pearson Education, Penguin Group, Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons, joins the Authors Guild writers' union in suing Google, which they say violates copyrights by failing to ask for authors' permissions before including their works in the Google Print Library Project. "The publishing industry is united behind this lawsuit against Google and united in the fight to defend their rights," said AAP president and former Colorado Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder. "While authors and publishers know how useful Google's search engine can be and think the Print Library could be an excellent resource, the bottom line is that under its current plan Google is seeking to make millions of dollars by freeloading on the talent and property of authors and publishers." Google had temporarily halted the project, to address author and publisher concerns, but plans to resume scanning books on Nov. 1. The AAP lawsuit seeks a judge's declaration that Google's book scanning constitutes copyright infringement, and an injunction against the practice unless Google obtains permissions from authors.
tags: Law | Google | Publishers | Library Book-Scanning Project | Halt |

Dutch Court Orders Halt to Sale of DVD Copying Software

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 26, 2005 - 8:08am.
London -- A controversial software program that can make back-up copies of DVD movies and was banned in the U.S. -- 321 Studios' DVD X Copy -- has now also been outlawed in the Netherlands, The Register reported. The Dutch anti-piracy organization BREIN sued distributor Teledirekt to halt sales of the program; Teledirekt has now been ordered to hand over remaining copies to BRIEN, as well as provide a list of purchasers of DVD X Copy. The program was prohibited from sale in the U.S. following two federal court injunctions, which sent St. Louis-based 321 Studios into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, a number of websites are still claiming to offer the last remaining copies of DVD X Copy for sale in the U.S. "This is the Pre-Ban software that was released before the injunction against DVD X Copy. This version does include the ripper which has been banned by the US Courts," reads a notice on 321StudioCloseouts.com.
tags: Law | Halt | Dutch Court | DVD Copying Software |

Judge Orders Halt to PlayStation Sales Over Vibrating Controller Patents

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 28, 2005 - 8:27am.
San Jose, Calif. -- Sony Computer Entertainment has been ordered by a federal judge to halt sales of its PlayStation video game consoles, and pay force feedback technology developer Immersion $90.7 million in damages in a patent infringement judgment. Sony's appeal of the ruling will temporarily maintain sales of the original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, two game controllers and 47 software titles that were found to be infringing as a result of the suit from San Jose, Calif.-based Immersion. The judge's ruling follows a California jury's similar finding last year that awarded $82 million to Immersion, whose technology causes video game controllers to vibrate in sync with a game's action. "The Court-ordered permanent injunction to stop the shipment and sale of infringing products in the U.S. is an important indicator of the strength of our case and the potential risks involved in this litigation," said Immersion CEO Victor Viegas. Microsoft settled a similar patent dispute with Immersion in 2003, paying $26 million to license the company's haptic technology for use in its PC and Xbox controllers and games.
tags: Judge | Halt | PlayStation Sales | Controller Patents |

Citing User Complaints, Universal to Halt CD Copy-Protection in Germany

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 21, 2004 - 8:13am.
London -- Major record label Universal Music Group has decided to phase out the sale of copy-protected CDs in Germany, "to address ongoing concerns that copy-protected CDs do not play in some hi-fi devices," Reuters reported. The company added that it may reintroduce the technology, which prevents album tracks from being uploaded to the Internet, after it is further fine-tuned. Some consumers have complained to retailers that copy-protected CDs won't play in some devices that are designed to play CDs, such as car stereos, PCs or DVD players. The revelation from Universal comes following the announcement last week that a copy-protected CD released by BMG was the top-selling CD in the U.S. for the week, and that fellow major label EMI would conduct its own trials of CD copy-protection.
tags: Germany | Universal | CD Copy-Protection | Halt |