Archive for March 2005
Google Removes AFP Content
"Google has decided to remove Agence France Presse from Google News after the global news wire filed a lawsuit (.pdf) last week seeking to bar the display of its content on the news search engine.
"France-based AFP sued Google in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, alleging that Google News infringes on its copyright by displaying AFP headlines, images and story leads without its permission.
"But on Monday, a Google spokesman confirmed that the AFP will be dropped from the Google News index. Google also will retroactively remove AFP content from the news index."
Matt Hicks. Google to Drop AFP from News Index. eWeek. March 21, 2005.
See also:
United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Agence France Presse v. Google, Inc.. (.pdf) March 17, 2005.
Editor’s note See also SNTReport.com’s prior story on Google’s copyright lawsuit.
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The Disappearance of Google X
"Google’s latest technology experiment paid tribute to Apple Computer, but the Mac OS X-themed version of the search king’s Web site was taken down a day after its debut.
"Google software engineer Chikai Ohazama played up his work, Google X, on the company’s blog on Tuesday. Located on Google’s test site, Google X featured an alternate way to connect to various services, allowing people to click on a series of graphical icons in a method inspired by a feature in Apple’s operating system.
"As of Wednesday afternoon, however, the Web page was inaccessible."
Stefanie Olsen and Ina Fried. Google’s X Files Vanish. News.com. March 16, 2005.
Chikai Ohazama. Google Goes X. Google Blog. March 15, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Same Debate, Different Era on Video Games
"Back in the early days of film, there was just no telling what damage the celluloid appearance of sulky Swede Greta Garbo might be inflicting on America’s impressionable youth.
"So it was that in 1931, some 40 religious and educational groups pressed Uncle Sam to regulate the film industry and thus protect minors from damage they might suffer from being exposed to ‘harmful’ content.
"Skip forward to 2005, and you can’t mistake the echo of that familiar argument in the push by legislators and private interest groups to get government to do something about violent video and computer games–the only difference being the particular object of society’s collective ire."
Charles Cooper. If Video Games Kill, What About the Bible?. News.com. March 18, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Disney to Release Films for Sony PSP
"Sony’s PlayStation Portable gained more support as a multimedia gadget, with Disney announcing plans on Wednesday to sell movies formatted for the sought-after device.
"Disney’s Buena Vista Home Entertainment division said in a statement that it plans to release movies on the Universal Media Disc, or UMD, format used by the PSP shortly after the device goes on sale in North America next week."
David Becker. Movie Support Grows for PSP. News.com. March 16, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Anti-P2P Senator Will Lead New IP Subcommittee
"Orrin Hatch, the senator who once said the recording industry should be able to destroy music pirates’ PCs, will be in charge of a new Senate panel responsible for writing copyright laws.
"Hatch, a Utah Republican, on Thursday was formally named chairman of the Senate Intellectual Property subcommittee. It’s responsible for overseeing the U.S. Copyright Office and drafting legislation and treaties relating to copyright and patent laws."
Declan McCullagh. Anti-P2P Lawmaker Gets Top Senate Spot. News.com. March 17, 2005.
See also:
David McGuire. Hatch to Head Senate Panel on Copyright. WashingtonPost.com. March 17, 2005.
U.S. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary.
(Editor�s Note: The Post allows free access to their stories on the Web for 14 days before sending the stories to the paper�s fee-based Archives.)
SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.
AFP Sues Google for Copyright Infringement
"Agence France Presse has sued Google, alleging the Web search leader includes AFP’s photos, news headlines and stories on its news site without permission.
"The French news service is seeking damages of at least $17.5 million and an order barring Google News from displaying AFP photographs, news headlines or story leads, according to the suit filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia."
Reuters. Agence France Presse Sues Google Over News Site. News.com. March 18, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Programmers Hack iTunes Store
"A trio of independent programmers has released new software that allows people to tap into Apple Computer’s iTunes music store and purchase songs free of any anticopying protections.
"Joined by Jon Johansen, the Norwegian programmer responsible for distributing DVD-cracking code in late 1999, the programmers say their PyMusique software is a "fair" interface for iTunes, primarily aimed at allowing people who use the Linux operating system to purchase music from Apple’s store."
John Borland. Hackers Build Back Door into iTunes. News.com. March 18, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
COPYCENSE 