News from Japan

Interlink starts accepting reservations for .xxx domain for the purpose of trademark protection

On July 28, 2011, through its domain acquisition service Gonbei Domain, stock company Interlink started accepting requests for reservations (priority registrations) by general companies for .xxx (triple-X) domain names.
The .xxx domain is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) for adult websites, but there is apprehension that third parties will acquire domain names which include company names, thus causing harm by demanding a high price for those domains or using the domains in ways which substantially damage company and brand image. In order to prevent this, Interlink is now accepting reservations for the .xxx domain by general companies for the purpose of trademark protection.

The .xxx domains acquired for said purpose may not be used as domains, but renewal payments each year will not be necessary, and protection will be permanent. Requests for reservation cost 350,000 Japanese yen, and the domain protection fee is 630,000 Japanese yen.
When general applications begin to be accepted on December 6, 2011, it will be possible to acquire the desired string of characters on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Google to digitize Hachette Livre’s French-language books

Google and French publisher Hachette Livre have concluded an agreement to digitize 50,000 books. The copyright holders have guaranteed control over the selling price of the works. Google has long been engaged in offering electronic books, but this trend is now gaining momentum.

Google has been forming many partnerships the last few months to digitize a wide array of ebooks. In June the company made an agreement with the British Library to scan over 250,000 ebooks and make them available for free. Today French publisher Hachette Livre and Google signed a contract, 2 months ahead of schedule to digitize close to 50,000 ebooks.

Google will be doing the dirty work by physically scanning all of the books, while Hachette Livre will determine which books will be available for free and what ones will have commercial purposes. Most of the books will be made available for free and entered into a database with the French National Library.

French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand welcomed the fact the accord was “based on recognition of the principles of authors’ rights, and guaranteed control by rights-holders over the digitization process and the sale price of works.” He added he attached “great importance to the conclusion of negotiations” between Google and other French publishers along the same lines.

Google currently is in talks with other French Publishers to scan their books as well, but a spokesman declined to mention any details.

ITC to examine Samsung in Apple patent infringement lawsuit

On August 2, 2011, in response to Apple filing a lawsuit, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) made a decision to initiate an examination to determine whether Samsung’s mobile phones, etc. infringe Apple’s intellectual property. Apple and Samsung are suing each other in various parts of the world, with the lawsuit arguments becoming more and more heated.

Google (U.S.A.) criticizes Microsoft, etc. claims they “obstruct Android”

On August 3, 2011, U.S. company Google’s Chief Judicial Officer accused rival corporations such as Microsoft and Apple of forming a united front in the smartphone market.
Google, which is doing well in the smartphone market, does not possess many patents in the field of wireless technologies and thus is exposed to the risk of lawsuits.

Google obtains over 1,000 patents from IBM

Google has obtained more than 1,000 patents from IBM. Google is aiming to use the patents, which are related to various markets such as servers and routers, to reinforce its patent portfolio (August 1, 2011).
Meanwhile, Google’s rivals Apple and Microsoft are also acting to purchase multiple patents as a countermeasure to lawsuits.