As part of their transparency report, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) released some interesting information regarding many of the links on their website which direct users to sites that sell pirated Microsoft software. Now Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) wants them to remove the links.
This transparency report was posted yesterday on Google’s official blog. In the same post, they also announced an expansion on their copyright which is essentially a disclosure of the number of requests made by copyright owners who wish to have certain links taken down. The data found in this transparency started at July 2011 and will be updated everyday.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) stated their belief in the “notice-and-takedown” process as a solution that works for everyone involved. They further mentioned their goals to continually improve and simplify their system.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has no apparent plans to take down some of the same links they requested for removal on Bing. That may change however.
Google said on their blog that it’s important to fight online piracy. They also noted that they don’t want their search results to violate copyright laws and that they’re working hard to meet DMCA(Digital Millennium Copyright Act) standards.
In the past, many have complained about Google’s slow response in regard to removing links off their website. The company responded that it takes up to eleven hours to complete the task.
Google’s initiative to share this information with others will only benefit the company in the long run. Piracy is a huge problem and every website or company that has a huge presence on the web needs to do their part to prevent piracy and other forms of copyright infringement. I’m not really sure when or if Microsoft will take the initiative to remove the same links from their search engine but it would be a smart move if they choose to take that route.
