In an April 2011 RT video, host Alyona Minkoski discusses Google’s plans to censor “pirate sites,” or websites that profit by providing illegal material. While those plans were an attempt to hurt pirate sites by ranking them low in search results, a United Kingdom newspaper recently reported that Google is now planning to implement even tougher measures to control piracy. According to the Daily Telegraph, the internet search giant is in talks to block funding to websites that do not respond to legal challenges. The hope is that cutting off these payments would reduce the number of sites dedicated to copyright infringement.
While entertainment industry would likely back this plan, some critics were quick to point out that blocking funds could be a “slippery slope.” The online business news website WebProNews said that even Google was “a little concerned” about unintended consequences. “The company reportedly fears that the big media players could use such a ploy to block funds from reaching smaller, yet legitimate, competitors,” WebProNews reported.
The technology blog Techdirt compared the discussed payment blocking plan to Google’s position when Congress was considering the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). “[I]f this report is accurate, like with Google caving to Hollywood’s demands over search rankings, it won’t satisfy Hollywood (nothing will), it won’t stop infringement, but it likely will make consumers worse off by killing off important innovations,” Techdirt said. “Furthermore, it would be yet another example of SOPA happening anyway, despite the protests against the law.”
These rumored plans are a subject that we will certainly be keeping an eye on, and you can learn more about intellectual property by visiting our website. Los Angeles business litigation attorney Robert G. Klein has more than 25 years of experience handling complex intellectual property claims, and you can use the form on this page or contact our firm at [number] to let our Los Angeles copyright infringement lawyer review your case if you have a copyright infringement claim.
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Quick Klein Extra: A survey of 5,000 musicians from different genres by Northwestern University School of Law Professor Peter DiCola found that on average, recorded music constitutes only 6 percent of all revenue.