WebProNews

French Case Over Google Books Begins

French publishers had their first day in court today as a case concerning Google Books began.  Various organizations are clamoring for Google to stop scanning manuscripts, and the plaintiffs are seeking about $22 million in compensation, too. The La Martiniere publishing group originally brought its case against Google several years ago.  Since then, the Syndicat National de l'Edition and the Societe des gens de letters have offered their support.

Google Books Backpedals

Google's scaled back its literature-related plans in the hopes of not angering publishers and regulators in Europe; the company has said that it won't add content to Google Books if it's available for sale on that continent.  At least a few important critics seem unimpressed, however, as France is objecting in a U.S. court. 

French Lawmakers Take Up Revised Internet Piracy Bill

The French Senate is considering a revised version of an Internet piracy law that was ruled unconstitutional last month, despite backing by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

French Court Revises Internet Piracy Law

France's highest constitutional court has struck down part of a law backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy that was aimed at targeting Internet pirates. The law was set up as a three-strikes system for copyright violators, who would first receive an email warning, then a letter and ultimately lose their Internet access if they were caught a third time.

eBay Wins French Ruling Over L 'Oreal Fakes

A French court has ruled in favor of eBay in a case brought cosmetics company L'Oreal over the sale of counterfeit goods on the site. L'Oreal was suing eBay for $6.97 million (3.5 million euros) claiming the company was not doing enough to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods posted on its auction and sale sites.

France Approves Internet Piracy Bill

French lawmakers approved a plan on Tuesday to cut off Internet access to those who illegally download content. The French National Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 296 to 223 and the measure will go before the Senate for final approval on Wednesday. The legislation is one of the toughest ever drafted against Internet piracy around the world, it would penalize those who pirate music and movies by shutting down their Internet access for up to a year.

France Has The Third Largest Internet Population In Europe

In February, more than 35 million people in France accessed the Internet from a home or work computer, up 19 percent over the previous year, according to comScore. French Internet users spent a combined total of 932 million hours online in February, an average of 27 hours per person. Instant messaging was the most popular activity with total share of time spent at 14.3 percent, followed by social networking at 5.7 percent. Together the two categories accounted for one out of every five minutes spent online during the month.

Not a Bad Month for Microsoft Live Search

Microsoft didn't have too bad a month of search in January. As Doug reported, comScore had Live Search's market share rising from 8.3 to 8.5 percent.

Facebook's French Connection

Facebook has been making a lot of efforts to expand internationally, and that continues today with the promise of a new team in France starting with one guy.

LinkedIn Invades France

Okay that may have been a bit over dramatic, what I meant is that LinkedIn is now accessible en Français. Oo-La-La. A few of the LinkedIn employees put together the following video to welcome the new French site users.