Daily News Links

• The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued its decision in the Perfect 10 v. Google case. The court overturned a lower court decision that Google's thumbnail versions of Perfect 10 likely constituted direct copyright infringement. Read more here (from SiliconValley.com) and read the decision here.
• A British judge has admitted he was struggling to cope with basic terms like "website" in the trial of three men accused of inciting terrorism via the internet.  Read more here (from the Sydney Morning Herald).
• Some of the staunchest advocates for stricter copyright laws have formed a new alliance designed to pressure Congress into preserving stronger intellectual property rights.  The Copyright Alliance--which launched, complete with electric-green and white T-shirts displaying its logo at a morning Capitol Hill event here--consists of 29 national organizations and companies that purport to represent 11 million workers in copyright-related industries. Those members include the Recording Industry Association of America, the Association of American Publishers, the Motion Picture Association of America, Microsoft, Viacom and Walt Disney.  Read more here (from CNET News.com).
• Google Korea plans to introduce an age-verification system to its search engine later this year that will restrict adult-themed searches to those 19 years of age and older, it said Thursday.  Users will be asked to verify their age when searching for any of about 700 words in Korean judged to be adult and supplied to the portal by the Korean government, said Lois Kim [cq], a spokeswoman for the company in Seoul.  Read more here (from PC World).
• Spain's bitter political wrangling has spread to Second Life, with supporters of socialist and conservative parties trying to burn down each others' party offices in the virtual world.  Read more here (from CNET News.com).
• Google's new search model will aggregate information from across all its content sources--videos, images, news, maps, books and Web sites--into a single set of relevant results.  Read more here (from Media Post).
• The Wall Street Journal features a report on why the Chinese government, which spent months mulling over ways to crack down on bloggers, is now retreating from its campaign, a development that the paper says illustrates the difficulty China faces as it tries to control technology. The Ministry of Information Industry, the agency responsible for the policy, has abandoned plans for a law requiring all Chinese blog service providers to ask their users for verifiable personal details before they can start blogging.  Read more here (from the Wall Street Journal).
• Eddie McGuire is stepping down as Nine Network boss.  Read more here (from The Age).
• AOL plans an aggressive global expansion this year and will introduce a new version of its popular e-mail service this summer to include its AIM instant messaging platform, the chief executive of Time Warner Inc.'s online division said on Wednesday.  Read more here (from Reuters).
• The US Federal Communications Commission approved Apple Inc.'s iPhone, clearing the way for the combined phone and music player to hit the shelves.  Read more here (from PC World).
• The Australian Communications Minister suggests the Sydney man who created the Virginia Tech massacre game seek "professional help".  Read more here (from the Sydney Morning Herald).
• James Packer's Nine Network last night used its flagship current affairs program to spoil a critical story about the secretive Church of Scientology on the rival Seven Network.  The executive producer of A Current Affair last night denied it had screened the soft story about Scientology, which Mr Packer is known to observe, in support of the Nine proprietor.  Read more here (from The Australian).
• As use of digital media becomes a pervasive way of life for young people, regulators investigating the link between junk food marketing practices and childhood obesity need to scrutinize this new "marketing ecosystem" carefully, maintain the authors of a 98-page report submitted today to the Federal Trade Commission.  Read more here (from Media Post).
• The West Australian Government - led by a former television presenter - yesterday escalated its war with the state's monopoly newspaper, repeating calls for editor Paul Armstrong to be sacked.  Read more here (from The Australian).
• After admitting its old Web strategy failed, CBS is now trying to prove that it's hip to the Internet. In its annual upfront presentation to advertisers yesterday, CBS held up its revamped approach that includes distributing shows through a number of partner Web sites. After ditching its own portal, the network said it's testing a new network that spans sites ranging from online giant AOL to Joost.  Read mroe here (from the New York Post).
• Former Bush Administration member Mike Gallagher has taken over the reins of the Entertainment Software Association.  Read more here (from PC World).
• Sports journalist Kylie Gillies has been named as Larry Emdur's co-host on the Seven Network's new morning show, which will be called The Morning Show.  Read more here (from News.com.au).
• British news wire service Reuters Group has declined to comment on how its Australian operations will be affected by its £8.7 billion ($20.9 billion) takeover by Canadian publisher Thomson Corp.  Read more here (from The Australian).
• The National Library of Scotland has kicked off a $3.6 million project to digitize its archive and make it
  available online. The NLS, established in 1925, holds copies of every publication in the UK, dating from the Middle Ages right up to the latest novels. The rare book collections alone comprise 1 million books.  Read more here (from CNET News.com).

Comments

[Jerod]

FYI - You can get free access to those WSJ.com articles through http://www.congoo.com

That was in PC World and I thought it was an excellent tip.