I think this plan to pass the Digital Economy Act is completely unfair. It is certainly important to protect copyrighted works, but it is necessary to do so at the risk of eliminating equal access to information?
Interesting, but I think Google realizes there's nothing it can really do to protect itself; sort of like Feist vs. Rural in that Google just provides an organized directory, the way Rural provides an uncreative list of organized information.
"Surveys have found the number of people who think digital copyright infringement is wrong has increased from 34% in 2007 to 54% in 2010." The keyword here being "think." Just because we know it's wrong doesn't mean we'll stop doing it.
"The internet titan was found guilty of infringing a patent related to the Linux kernel and fined "
"The software is used by Google for its server platforms and could also extend to its Android mobile platform.The kernel is at the core of the open-source operating system meaning this verdict could be far-reaching"
"The implication here is really that there is a huge number of Linux users who will be required to pay royalties if this patent holder knocks on their doors in the US. This is definitely a major impediment to the growth of Linux and makes companies, including Google, that rely on open source code particularly vulnerable to patent threats.
Although China seems to be working to eliminate mass sales of pirated goods, especially counterfeit DVDs, this regulation seems to be rather inconsistent across regions.