Software Firms Go to Washington to Defend Patents (CIO)
Representatives from various software companies said in a Capitol Hill briefing that lawmakers and judges shouldn’t solve current controversies by eliminating software patents altogether, but instead look at ways to improve patent quality, make it tougher for patent licensing firms to file infringement lawsuits and require companies to be transparent about the patents they hold.

New Internet Domains to Start Rolling Out in Mid-2013 (PCMagazine)
ICANN, the Web’s governing body, will open a trademark clearinghouse starting March 26 in an effort to resolve any trademark disputes when new generic top-level domains (gTLD) are rolled out mid-2013.

Indie Bookstores Sue Amazon, Big-6 Publishers for Using DRM on Ebooks (paidContent)
Three independent bookstores have filed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon and the big-six publishers, alleging that the proprietary DRM Amazon uses on ebooks creates a monopoly.

RIAA Not Impressed With Google’s Anti-Piracy Efforts (PCMagazine)
The RIIA says it has found no evidence that Google has followed through with a plan to demote sites with pirated content, despite millions of copyright removal requests over the last six months.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

SIIA looks forward to working with administration and congressional leaders to fight intellectual property theft and protect American businesses, exports, and jobs.

Laura Greenback is Communications Director at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Public Policy team at @SIIAPolicy.

Anti-Piracy Group Welcomes Pirate Bay Lawsuit (Wired)
The Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre (CIAPC), an anti-piracy group accused of infringing The Pirate Bay’s copyright, has said that a lawsuit from The Pirate Bay could benefit anti-piracy campaigners by forcing the site’s anonymous operators to identify themselves by name.

In Lawsuit With Publishers, Open Textbook Startup Boundless Hits Back (paidContent)
Facing a lawsuit alleging such violations as copyright infringement, unfair competition and false advertising from publishers Pearson, Cengage and Macmillan, open textbook startup Boundless has requested a trial by jury after a judge denied its motion to dismiss.

EA and Zynga Quietly Resolve Copyright Dispute Out of Court (All Things D)
In federal court, all lawsuits related to Electronic Arts’ claim that Zynga copied one of its Facebook games were dismissed. EA filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Zynga in August, charging that Zynga’s social game called The Ville was an “unmistakable copy” of EA’s The Sims Social.

As 3-D Printing Becomes More Accessible, Copyright Questions Arise (NPR)
As 3-D printers and 3-D scanners get cheaper and become more available, this nascent industry could be roiled by battles over intellectual property.

USC Report Finds a Shift in Advertiser-Supported Piracy (Los Angeles Times)
In the latest reports on advertising-supported online piracy, USC says two major distributors of ads online – Google and OpenX – have “significantly reduced the number of infringing sites they are placing ads on,” but that smaller ad networks have rushed in to fill the gap.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

Feds Urge Supreme Court to Let Stand $222K Landmark File-Sharing Verdict (Wired)
The Obama administration urged the Supreme Court to let stand a $222,000 jury verdict levied against Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a Minnesota woman who downloaded and shared two dozen copyrighted songs on the now-defunct file-sharing site Kazaa.

Google Joins JPMorgan in Seeking Software Patent Limits (Bloomberg)
A U.S. appeals court specializing in patent law heard arguments about how to distinguish software innovations from programs that computerize unpatentable ideas. Companies including Google, Facebook, and JPMorgan Chase say patent standards for software are too lax and lead to expensive litigation.

Maryland Proposal to Claim Copyright on Students’ Work Prompts Backlash, Legal Review (Fox News)
A recent proposal by a Maryland county’s school board would give them the copyright to anything created by teachers, students and employees before, during and after school hours. The draft policy prompted a backlash from teachers and education activists, causing the board to put the policy on hold pending a more thorough legal review.

Oracle vs Google Legal War Begins a New Chapter (Thomson Reuters)
Oracle says a U.S. judge erred when he threw out its billion-dollar copyright claim against Google over parts of the Java programming language that Google incorporated into the Android mobile platform.

IIPA Recommends Designation of Ukraine as Priority Country in Copyright Piracy (Kyiv Post)
The International Intellectual Property Alliance recommended that USTR designate Ukraine as a Priority Foreign Country as a result of severe legal and copyright enforcement problems.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

SIIA on First Sale at the State of the Net Conference: AUDIO (SIIA Digital Discourse)

Google Settles French Copyright Complaint (CNET)
To resolve a copyright dispute with French news publishers over the news snippets that appear in its search results, Google has agreed to dump 60 million euros into a digital publishing innovation fund and help the publishers increase revenue through online ads.

Amazon Wins Broad Patent to Create Marketplace for Used Digital Content (paidContent)
Amazon has won a patent for an electronic marketplace where users can resell digital content, but it is unclear whether such a marketplace would be legal under current copyright law.

“Six Strikes” Boss Insists New System Won’t Harm Public Wi-Fi (Ars Technica)
As the launch of the “six strikes” copyright alert system nears, the group in charge of the effort, the Center for Copyright Information, has had to respond to reports that the system could hurt small businesses by throttling the speed of their Wi-Fi connections. CCI insists that the new alert system will not harm public Wi-Fi.

Anti-Piracy Site Claims Small, 40 Percent Victory in Anti-Mega Campaign (Ars Technica)
StopFileLockers.com, an anti-piracy group that attempts to take down file-hosting services by attacking their finances, says it has already made progress in its campaign to have the payment processing of all Mega resellers terminated.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

German Rights Holders Sue YouTube in Escalating Royalty Fight (paidContent)
German music rights group GEMA filed a lawsuit against YouTube, alleging that the video site is misleading users about the details of an ongoing licensing dispute between the two parties, and asking a Munich-based court to issue a cease-and-desist order to prevent YouTube from blaming GEMA for the mess.

Software Pirate Walks Plank in Federal Court (DelawareOnline)
Jamie Lynn Snyder was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for selling pirated copies of software from companies like Microsoft, Adobe and Apple, and embezzling more than $40,000 from her employer.

California AG Sues Apparel Makers in China and India Over Pirated Software (Insurance Journal)
California Attorney General Kamala Harris filed lawsuits against two international apparel manufacturers for gaining an unfair advantage over American companies by using pirated software in the production of clothing imported and sold in the state.

Apple’s $1 Billion Verdict Against Samsung Left Intact (Bloomberg)
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose yesterday declined to increase the award after she found Samsung’s infringement wasn’t willful.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

Kim Dotcom Marks Raid Anniversary by Unveiling New File-Sharing Site (Bloomberg)
Marking one year since his Megaupload site was shut down and his home raided, Kim Dotcom launched a new site, Mega, which will let users upload, download and share files, and allow file encryption with the user having the only key, preventing governments and storage providers from viewing the contents.

China to Establish Center to Resolve IP Disputes (ZDNet)
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will be establishing a digital dispute-resolution center to deal with disagreements over intellectual property and online copyright issues. The center will provide third-party mediation services and dispute resolution services to technology companies.

New Music Survey: P2P Users Buy the Most, No One Wants Disconnection Penalties (Ars Technica)
A new survey from the American Assembly at Columbia University suggests P2P users buy 30% more music than those who do not use P2P software, and also finds that Americans overwhelmingly oppose the use of disconnection and rate-limiting as penalties for unauthorized file-sharing.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

Verizon’s “Six Strikes” Anti-Piracy Measures Unveiled (TorrentFreak)
After more than a year of delays the “six strikes” anti-piracy system will officially roll out in the first weeks of this year. A copy of Verizon’s full policy was leaked and shows how the scheme will work and details of the mitigation measures they intend to put in place.

Judge Rules Twitter Images are Protected by Copyright (Examiner)
In one of the first cases to address intellectual property as it pertains to social media sites, a Manhattan judge ruled that two news organizations infringed on the copyrights of a photographer when they published images he had published on Twitter.

Sony Files Patent to Curb Access to Used Video Games (International Business Times)
Sony has patented new technology to prevent the use of second-hand video game discs on its consoles. The disc-tagging technology could stop games from being played on more than one version of the video game console.

BlackBerry App World Said to Hawk Pirated Android Apps (CNET)
Weeks before the release of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry 10, pirated Android apps are reportedly being found and sold in RIM’s app store.

Keith Kupferschmid is General Counsel and SVP, Intellectual Property Policy & Enforcement at SIIA.

Google, Yahoo Accused of Funding Piracy (CNET)
A University of Southern California report accuses Google and Yahoo’s advertising networks of financially supporting those who pirate music and movies online.

Chinese Man Pleads Guilty in $100 Million Stolen Software Sting (Reuters)
In a case U.S. officials say is the first of its kind, a Chinese businessman pleaded guilty to selling approximately $100 million worth of stolen American software used in defense, space technology and engineering programs.

Big Record Labels Push Copyright Claims Against Vimeo (The Hollywood Reporter)
Capitol Records and other big record labels asked a judge for a summary judgment win in a lawsuit against the user-generated video website Vimeo, who the plaintiffs allege copied, performed, and distributed sound recordings without attaining licenses.

Record 5-Year Prison Term Handed to Convicted File Sharer (Wired)
Jeramiah Perkins, leader of the in-theater camcording gang IMAGiNE Group, and the fifth to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, was handed a 60-month prison term in what is the nation’s longest sentence in a file-sharing case.

The Right to Resell: A Ticking Time Bomb Over Digital Goods (paidContent)
With a conflict brewing over consumers’ rights to use platforms like ReDigi to resell their books, music and other digital property, libraries and companies are joining together to lobby for Digital First Sale rights.

Alibaba Group’s Taobao Removed From “Notorious Markets” List by U.S. (TechCrunch)
The U.S. government announced that it has removed China’s Taobao Marketplace from its yearly list of the world’s most “notorious markets,” a distinction Taobao earned for being rampant with pirated and counterfeit goods.

Anti-Piracy Chief Patents “Pay Up or Disconnect” Scheme (TorrentFreak)
One of the top executives of the U.S.-based anti-piracy outfit Digital Rights Corp has submitted a patent application for a system that will demand a fee from Internet users caught downloading copyrighted material.

U.S. Report Slams Russia’s VKontakte Over Copyright Infringement (RT)
A USTR report has accused Russia’s largest social network site of copyright infringement, claiming the site allows users to access and share copyright-protected content without right-holders’ permission.