San Francisco – After trade groups representing the major
record labels asked Google (NASD: GOOG) in a letter last month for help in combating piracy,
Google offered a new, paid option for labels that would see Google help remove
links to pirated songs from its search index, CNET News.com reported.
The
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) were reportedly told they could pay
Google’s standard rate of $5 per thousand queries, to cover its costs
associated with searching out pirated content.
"Google makes money on the
advertising from these pirate sites," Rick Carnes, president of the
Songwriters Guild of America, told CNET.
"Now they want to make money
helping creators find out how to take the stuff down…Everybody keeps talking
about making the Internet free and open. How about we get a fair and just
Internet?"
Google reiterated that it does not charge copyright holders to
have links to unauthorized materials removed.
"We don’t charge for
removals and have no plans to. We have a great relationship with the music
industry and have worked consistently with them to advance their interests
through services like YouTube ContentID, our music search feature, and our
developer tools," a Google representative told CNET.
Related Links:
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