Court Rules File Hosting Service RapidShare Must Scan For Copyright Infringing Files (PC World)
The German Federal Court of Justice ruled that online file locker services have a business model that provides an incentive to share copyright protected materials, and must monitor incoming links to discover infringing files.
New Zealand Bans Software Patents (ZDNet)
After five years of debate, delay and intense lobbying from multinational software vendors, New Zealand finally passed a new Patents Bill that will effectively outlaw software patents.
Google Calls Book Scanning “Transformative” In Latest Push For Fair Use Ruling (GigaOM)
In the long-running copyright fight between Google and the Authors Guild, new court filings suggest the case will turn on whether or not Google’s book scanning was “transformative.”
Re-thinking the Role of IP: A Lecture By Dr. Francis Gurry (Lexology)
In a presentation at Melbourne University, Dr. Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, gave a speech exploring the major economic, social and political developments affecting intellectual property.
File-Hosting Services Take Big Hit With Ruling Against Hotfile (The Verge)
The MPAA announced it has prevailed in a copyright suit against cloud-storage service Hotfile, and while the decision has not yet been released by the court, the studios now have a legal precedent and are in a better position than ever to prevent people from storing movies in cyberlockers.
Russia To Hit Search Engines With Huge Fines Over Piracy (RIA Novosti)
A Russian parliamentary committee approved a bill to introduce fines of up to 1 million rubles ($30,000) for Internet users, websites, service providers and search engines failing to comply with an online piracy blacklist.
Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA. Follow Keith on Twitter at @keithkup and sign up for the Intellectual Property Roundup weekly newsletter here.