New Google data shows Microsoft's piracy problems

Google on Thursday releases a new data to provide a better understanding of the intellectual property abuses on the Internet. The data indicated that Google's internet search engine receives more complaints about websites believed to be infringing on Microsoft's copyrights than it does about material produced by entertainment companies pushing for tougher online piracy laws .

Google Inc. has logged more than 2.5 million requests in the past 11 months to remove links believed to be violating Microsoft's copyrights.



The new report includes a breakdown of all requests Google has received since July 2011 to remove copyright-infringing content from its search index. Google plans to update the information daily at http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/removals/copyright .

The data doesn't identify the specifics of the reported infringements, but Microsoft Corp. confirmed virtually all of its complaints are about websites offering bogus versions of its Windows operating system and other software.

Copyright-protected content owned by major music labels also spurred a high volume of removal requests.

Google decided to share its insights on copyright abuse amid a rising outcry for a crackdown against online piracy that media companies have claimed is collectively costing them billions of dollars each year.

Online infringements in the US are currently covered by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which requires the content owner to police sites for violations and then send requests to take down the material. Websites are required to respond promptly.

Google says it now responds to requests within 11 hours, despite a rising volume of complaints. It sometimes receives more than 250,000 removal requests in a week, exceeding the total number sent to the company during the entire year of 2009.

Google's new report doesn't include copyright removal requests sent to its popular video site, YouTube, or its Blogger service. But Google's search engine receives the most copyright complaints, accounting for about 60 percent of the 5.4 million removal requests the company processed last year, von Lohmann said.

With inputs from Associated Press