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Digital
Will Google have to crack down on AdWord users to get Sony on board for its download store?
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 26 October 2011
According to the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, one of the reasons Sony Music is holding off licensing Google’s new MP3 store is because it believes that – despite various “we’re tough on piracy, don’t you know” statements in recent years – the web giant isn’t doing enough to stop copyright infringing websites benefiting from its services. The Journal’s sources said Sony was pushing for more resolute commitments on fighting piracy from Google before signing on any dotted line re gTunes.
One area where Google has been criticised before is that websites which some see as being copyright infringers make money by carrying Google-curated advertising via Google AdWords. The web firm pledged to crack down on that last December, but according to Digital Music News – which investigated the matter this week – a stack of websites which record companies believe are infringing their rights, or enabling others to do so, still carry Google advertising.
Of course one tricky issue is, who is to say what sites are and are not infringers without any a legal action in court? For example, DMN notes that Grooveshark, a service which some believe is wholly illegal but which other labels have licensed, takes Google advertising. But some others listed by DMN, including one offering the ‘pirate edition’ of the LimeWire P2P software, unofficially released after the actual LimeWire company was shut down after losing copyright infringement actions last year, are sites where the case for contributory infringement is strong. Perhaps it will require the speedy removal of such sites from the Google AdWords system to get Sony on board for the new Google downloads store.
DMN’s full list of controversial music sites carrying Google advertising is here.
