News

A selection of topical items illustrating some of the use cases for SearchFlair™:

Courthouse News: "An Italian court refused to block Google from hosting sites that allegedly violate copyright laws, falling in line with a European high court decision that barred general filtering of web content. Reti Televisive Italiane, a subsidiary of Mediaset empire owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, sought the injunction this past summer against Google and GoDaddy to shut down websites that stream soccer games, to which it owns the rights. Google removed the infringing content, streamed from blogging platform Blogger.com, after being notified. The Court of First Instance in Rome refused to grant an injunction since the content had already been removed, and rejected an injunction for future violations as constituting general surveillance ... - more

European Commission: "The European Commission has opened formal antitrust proceedings to investigate whether international publishers Hachette Livre (Lagardère Publishing, France), Harper Collins (News Corp., USA), Simon & Schuster (CBS Corp., USA), Penguin (Pearson Group, United Kingdom) and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holzbrinck (owner of inter alia Macmillan, Germany) have, possibly with the help of Apple, engaged in anti-competitive practices affecting the sale of e-books in the European Economic Area. The Commission will in particular investigate whether these publishing groups and Apple have engaged in illegal agreements or practices that would have the object or the effect of restricting competition in the EU or in the EEA. The Commission is also examining the character and terms of the agency agreements entered into by the above named five publishers and retailers for the sale of e-books. The Commission has concerns, that these practices may breach EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices. ..." - more

ECJ: "The European Court of Justice has given its decision in the case concerning the purchase by Marks and Spencer plc of the Google AdWord 'Interflora' in connection with its own flower and plant service, which was challenged by Interflora, Inc. on the basis that its trade mark 'Interflora' was thereby infringed ..." - more

UK Intellectual Property Office (IP Crime Report 2010-2011): "The use of the internet to sell physical products and distribute digital content has increasingly become an additional threat as well as an opportunity to trade mark and copyright owners ... The use of the internet to distribute fake goods can often conceal the presence of fakes from the consumer, with criminals posing as legitimate suppliers with sophisticated websites and payment facilities. Another area of risk is the threat of contamination to the genuine supply chain where counterfeits are innocently sold with the real product. These fakes not only cause direct harm to the reputation of the brand and to legitimate traders and rights holders but can expose consumers to serious health and safety risks ..." - more

BBC News: "Rap superstars Jay-Z and Kanye West employed tight security and extreme tactics to ensure their album Watch The Throne did not fall victim to the curse that hits almost every other big release - the online leak ... Virtually every major artist - from Lady Gaga to U2 - has found their music being leaked. So how did Jay-Z and Kanye stop it happening to them?" - more

BBC News: "Harry Potter hit by hi-tech conmen - cyber conmen are cashing in on interest surrounding the Pottermore website ... Pottermore officially opens in October, and scammers are selling fake accounts for the site that claim to give fans early access ... Scammers are now offering to register people for this challenge and are getting hold of their personal details as a result ... some scammers are supposedly selling Pottermore accounts for about $100 (£60) via eBay ..." - more