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Google product chief leaves as Page takes helm

US lawmakers to push for online piracy bill
Washington (AFP) April 4, 2011 - Democratic and Republican members of the US Congress pledged Monday to pass legislation that would give US authorities more tools to crack down on websites engaged in piracy of movies, television shows and music and the sale of counterfeit goods. Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would introduce a new version "soon" of a bill designed to combat so-called "rogue websites." A previous bill co-sponsored by Leahy, called the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 19-0 vote in November, but never made it to the Senate floor.

Leahy, speaking to reporters on Monday, said: "Online infringement and the sale of counterfeit goods costs American creators, producers, and businesses billions of dollars and results in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs. "This theft is unacceptable at any time; it is devastating in our current economic climate," he said. House Judiciary Committee chairman Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, said: "The success of our economy is in part tied to the success of America's intellectual property industries. "From movies and music to software and medicine, IP theft drains our economy and puts lives at risk," Smith said.

Leahy and Smith were joined by other lawmakers at the event along with representatives of the entertainment industry and labor organizations. "The Internet has regrettably become a cash-cow for the criminals and organized crime cartels who profit from digital piracy and counterfeit products," said Representative John Conyers, a Democrat from Michigan. The Obama administration has come in for some criticism for shutting down dozens of websites in recent months as part of a crackdown known as "Operation in Our Sites." US authorities in November shut down 82 websites selling mostly Chinese-made counterfeit goods, including golf clubs, Walt Disney movies, handbags and other items.

Leahy said the bill would ensure a judicial review for websites accused of engaging in illegal activities and dismissed claims it threatened First Amendment protections of free speech. The Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) last year decried the previous version of Leahy's legislation as an "Internet censorship" bill. "Blacklisting entire sites out of the domain name system" is a "reckless scheme that will undermine global Internet infrastructure and censor legitimate online speech," it said. "I'm very concerned about the First Amendment," Leahy said Monday. "I'm also concerned about theft. "There is no First Amendment right that protects thieves."
by Staff Writers
San Francisco (AFP) April 4, 2011
Larry Page's first day as Google chief executive on Monday was marked with the resignation of the executive in charge of search, Android and other major products at the Internet powerhouse.

Google confirmed that Jonathan Rosenberg, the company's chief of product development, announced his resignation internally after being unable to assure Page that he was committed to his role for the long haul.

"We tried to hire Jonathan multiple times because he was the only person we could imagine doing the job," Page said in a statement released by Google.

"It's lucky we were so persistent because he's built an amazing team -- hiring great people, who've created amazing products that have benefited over a billion users around the world."

Rosenberg, 49, has been open about his plan to remain at Google only until his daughter is ready to attend college in about two years.

Page met with top executives on Monday, his first day on the job as chief executive at the Mountain View, California-based company he launched in 1998 with then Stanford University classmate Sergey Brin.

Page wanted to make sure top executives planned to be at Google as he executes his plan for the firm.

Rosenberg decided to step down after being unable to make a long-term commitment, according to Google.

Rosenberg will leave his position about mid-year and return to Google as a consultant after taking off an unspecified amount of time.

Rosenberg also planned to collaborate with recently-departed chief executive Eric Schmidt on a book about Google's management culture.

"Jonathan is phenomenal -- hugely energetic, strategic, a man of real principle who always puts the user first," Schmidt said in a release.

"He's been crucial to our success over the last nine years and I cannot thank him enough for everything he's done."

Page, an engineer with a keen interest in Google products and an inclination to be hands-on, had yet to decide what will become of Rosenberg's position.

earlier related report
Google bids $900 million for Nortel patents
Washington (AFP) April 4, 2011 - Internet giant Google said Monday it is bidding $900 million to buy the patent portfolio of Canadian technology company Nortel at a bankruptcy auction.

The Mountain View, California-based Google said the move is aimed at protecting the company from potential frivolous patent litigation.

The bid came on Google co-founder Larry Page's first day as chief executive of the Internet search titan. Page, 38, replaced Eric Schmidt as CEO on Monday.

Nortel said the portfolio includes approximately 6,000 patents and patent applications for wired, wireless and digital communication technologies.

Google's $900 million dollar bid for Nortel's portfolio will be the starting bid for the auction, which is expected to take place in June 2011 pending the approval of courts in Canada and the United States.

"The tech world has recently seen an explosion in patent litigation, often involving low-quality software patents, which threatens to stifle innovation," Google general counsel Kent Walker said in a blog post.

"Some of these lawsuits have been filed by people or companies that have never actually created anything; others are motivated by a desire to block competing products or profit from the success of a rival's new technology," Walker said.

"One of a company's best defenses against this kind of litigation is (ironically) to have a formidable patent portfolio, as this helps maintain your freedom to develop new products and services," he said.

"Google is a relatively young company, and although we have a growing number of patents, many of our competitors have larger portfolios given their longer histories," Walker said. "So after a lot of thought, we've decided to bid for Nortel's patent portfolio in the company's bankruptcy auction."

He said obtaining the portfolio would "create a disincentive for others to sue Google" and also help open source software projects such as Android and Chrome.



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Zite news app accused of copyright infringement
Washington (AFP) March 31, 2011
The Washington Post, Dow Jones, Time Inc. and other news organizations have accused iPad news reader Zite of copyright infringement and told the Canadian startup to stop displaying their articles. "The Zite application is plainly unlawful," the 11 media outlets said in a "cease-and-desist" letter sent on Wednesday to Zite chief executive Ali Davar, a copy of which was obtained by AFP. Va ... read more







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