IN BRIEF.

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• US: On October 19, Publishing companies McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Viacom, Simon & Schuster, John Wiley & Sons filed suits against Google in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to block plans to scan copyrighted works without permission. The publishers claim that Google infringes copyrights when it scans books without permission. Google's legal advisor, David Drummond, denied the charges: "Creating an easy-to-use index of books is fair use under copyright law and supports the purpose of copyright: to increase the awareness and sales of books, directly benefiting copyright holders."
• US: Microsoft has issued three licences that will cover all of the technology available under its Shared Source Initiative. The move reduces the number of licences that potential licensees must deal with. Previously Microsoft had more licences depending on which technology developers wished to license. The Shared Source Initiative has so far made more than 80 technologies available to potential licensees.
• US: The Recording Industry Association of America filed copyright infringement lawsuits against 757 individuals, including computer network users at 17 different colleges, on September 29. The Association accused the individuals of illegally distributing copyrighted music over the internet via peer-to-peer services such as eDonkey, Grokster, Kazaa and LimeWire. Universities targeted included Harvard, Princeton, Boston, Columbia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• US: The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is to outsource patent searches to private companies and to IP offices overseas in an effort to cut the large backlog of pending applications. The USPTO has awarded contracts to two US companies, Landon OP and IP Data Miner, to take part in a pilot programme to carry out PCT searches. The trial scheme could last up to 18 months.
• US: Two years after the USPTO's director ordered a reexamination of a patent for web browser technology owned by Eolas, the Office has reaffirmed the patent's validity. Microsoft had contested the validity of the patent after a US court ordered it to pay Eolas Technologies $521 million in damages for infringement. Microsoft subsequently appealed.

• Australia: The government is to set up a new dispute resolution system for patent and trade mark attorneys that will be separate from procedures for dealing with professional misconduct. Its announcement comes in response to reviews on the disciplinary and the regulatory regimes for patent and trade mark attorneys carried out by the Professional Standards Board for Patent and Trade Marks Attorneys.
• China: Beijing-based search engine Baidu.com has stopped providing links to free music download sites in response to a lawsuit that was filed against it by multinational music companies including Sony BMG and EMI.
• Hong Kong: The Japanese government is to complain formally to officials in Hong Kong about its system of company registration, backing a group of Japanese companies who say that it allows rivals to misuse their trade marks.
• Hong Kong: Chan Naiming was convicted of movie internet piracy in what is believed to be the first case involving BitTorrent file-sharing software. He was arrested in April and charged with uploading three Hollywood films to the internet. Chan is due to be sentenced in November.
• Singapore: the government-funded Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) said patent applications in Singapore increased more than 25% last year, from 1,001 in 2003 to 1,257 in 2004. The reported number of patents granted jumped 30.2% from 460 in 2003 to 599.
• Singapore: The Competition Commission issued a draft set of guidelines outlining how it plans to treat agreements dealing with IP rights under the country's new competition law. Provisions relating to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of a dominant position take effect on January 1 2006.
• US: Randolph Hobson Guthrie III faces an 18-count indictment in the US for selling pirated DVDs over the internet after being deported from China less than six months after being sentenced by a Chinese court to two and a half years in prison. Guthrie was arrested in July 2004 along with another US citizen and two Chinese following a joint US-Chinese law enforcement operation.

• Brussels: The European Commission has proposed measures to stem the growing tide of counterfeit and pirated goods flowing into the EU. The proposals would create a business-Customs working group to look at improving anti-counterfeiting laws, a task force of Customs specialists from EU member states and an anti-counterfeiting risk management guide. The plans also envisage a secure electronic system that would simplify Customs access to company listings and IP databases and allow for easier exchanges between companies and Customs authorities. The Commission also hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding with trade representatives such as airlines, shipping companies and express carriers to encourage better information exchanges and raise awareness of the risks of traffic in fakes.
• Brussels: Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has revealed plans for pan-European copyright licences for songs. Following a consultation, the Commission proposes to remove territorial restrictions in existing licensing contracts while giving rights owners the option to tender their repertoire for EU-wide direct licensing in the future. The recommendation also includes provisions on governance, transparency, dispute settlement and accountability of collective rights managers, which the Commission hopes will introduce a culture of transparency and good governance.
• Geneva: Applicants from least developed countries will be able to protect their trade marks globally for just 10% of the full price, with effect from January 1 2006, after an agreement was reached by member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization during their general assembly meetings in Geneva at the end of September.
• Luxembourg: In a decision on October 18, the ECJ ruled that SmithKline Beecham could not confiscate goods held at a warehouse in Rotterdam, brought in by importer Class International from outside the EU. Class International said that it had not infringed SmithKline Beecham's trade mark because the goods, a container of Aquafresh toothpaste, were in transit and had not been imported for sale in the EU. The Court's Grand Chamber agreed.

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