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Microsoft Slams Google for Copyright Infringement

Thomas Rubin, an associate general counsel at Microsoft, issued a full-frontal attack on Google`s copyright practices, in remarks he prepared for a conference of the Association of American Publishers, with the full version of these remarks published on Microsoft website. The speech, dubbed by Rubin: ?Searching for Principles: Online Services and Intellectual Property,? was circulated Tuesday, and raised interest in the blog circuit. According to Rubin Google is making its money by picking the pockets of book, video and software publishers.

The Association of American Publishers is a good audience for such a speech, as Google has been facing a lawsuit brought by five book publishers and headed by the association over Google`s ambitious Book Search project . ?Companies that create no content of their own, and make money solely on the backs of other people?s content, are raking in billions through advertising revenue and I.P.O.s,? Rubin, who oversees copyright and trade-secret law, said. ?Google takes the position that everything may be freely copied unless the copyright owner notifies Google and tells it to stop,? Rubin said.

The competition between Google, the world?s leading search engine, and Microsoft, which had recently entered the Web search market, is heating up. Rubin is invoking criticism aimed at Google since its well-publicized acquisition of YouTube, which has been attacked by media companies for copyright infringement of video. ?In essence, Google is saying to you and to other copyright owners: ?Trust us ? you?re protected. We?ll keep the digital copies secure, we?ll only show snippets, we won?t harm you, we?ll promote you,?? he argues. Google?s chief legal officer, David Drummond, responded to the allegations, on the BBC News, saying Google complied with international copyright laws, and that it is working with more than 10 thousand partners to make books searchable online. ?The result has been more exposure and in many cases, more revenue for authors, publishers and producers of content,? Drummond said.