ICOMP

Yahoo! Japan announced on 27 July 2010 that it had “decided to change its search engine (the service for searching for information on the Internet) and ads platform (its search-triggered ads distribution system) to Google Inc”.
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It was announced today that Yahoo Japan will switch its search technology and paid search provider to Google. Yahoo! Japan and Google combined already provide virtually 100% of paid search ads in Japan. Furthermore, this deal would have knock-on effects in related sectors such as search and contextual advertising.
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Following the blog post earlier this week on the launch of the ICOMP White Paper on intellectual property, two videos featuring ‘vox pop’ interviews with the panellists, sharing their views on copyright issues, together with a longer video on the highlights of the event. Both of these can be watched below. Thanks to PRS for Music for allowing filming on the evening.
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Following news of the paper’s publication alongside the ICOMP Council meeting earlier this month, Monday evening marked the launch of the latest ICOMP White Paper on intellectual property rights (IPR) entitled Intellectual Property On The Internet: The Search For Sustainable Business Practices.
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Germany’s Data Protection Authority has launched legal proceedings against Facebook amid an alleged breach of data privacy laws.

Spearheaded by Johannes Caspar, head of Hamburg’s Data Protection Authority, the legal allegations focus on Facebook’s use of personal data of people who do not have a Facebook account or profile.
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“My services are currently examining some allegations of anti-competitive conduct in relation to search….I am looking at the allegations very, very carefully.”

With these words the Commissioner for Competition, Vice President Almunia, concluded his remarks yesterday at a speech in London that had been widely trailed in advance as a significant signal of the Commission’s intentions in relation to Google.
There was much to ponder in the speech. While acknowledging the complexity of online markets, the Commissioner stressed that “the principles of competition must be maintained in the digital economy with the same intensity that they are imposed in the brick and mortar world”. He focused in particular on the search and search advertising markets. While noting that these markets are constantly evolving he expressed concern at the existence of very high market shares in some areas, attributing to Google a usage share of 95% in Europe.
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ICOMP launched its second white paper in Paris yesterday in conjunction with the annual ICOMP meeting. The paper, entitled Intellectual Property on the Internet: the Search for Sustainable Business Practices explores how policymakers and industry can work together to preserve incentives for creativity and commerce online.
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For months now, competition watchers (lawyers, journalists, politicians and the online business world), have been waiting to see which of the various competition investigations of Google would take the step to an actual finding. After all, when you are that big and are the subject of multiple investigations, it is only a matter of time.
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