A federal judge has handed Google a major victory by
rebuffing media company Viacom's attempt to collect more than
$US1 billion ($NZ 1.4 billion) in damages for the alleged
copyright abuses of Google's popular YouTube service.
On the heels of a major court win by the recording companies
against file-sharing software company LimeWire, eight major
music publishers have filed their own suit.
Supporters of Google's effort to create the world's largest
digital library on the Internet have told a federal judge
that it would benefit society, while opponents said it would
infringe on copyright protections and violate the privacy of
readers.
The internet community has welcomed the Government's decision
to dump a controversial copyright law but Commerce Minister
Simon Power says he isn't backing away from the problem.
The Government still wants the internet community to sort out
its problems with new copyright laws, even though
TelstraClear said today it was pulling out of the code of
practice that is being developed.
Implementing copyright law covering the internet is necessary
in terms of bringing New Zealand into line with other
countries, Prime Minister John Key says.
