Google has announced the acquisition of Aardvark, the Internet search and social networking started by former Google employees. Neither company would release the financials of the deal, but it appears to be at least $50 million.
The move should help Google compete better with Twitter, and the move comes just one day after Buzz was released, adding social networking features to Google Gmail accounts.
Reuters says Aardvark “has pioneered a new type of Internet search dubbed “social search.” Instead of looking at Web pages to find answers to search queries, Aardvark’s service taps a person’s network of social contacts.”
The acquisition is Google’s sixth purchase since September, but one of its smallest.
Result for: internet search
Despite being found not guilty in a previous case, China’s most used Internet search site Baidu is in legal trouble again.
Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, and Warner Music Group have all sued the site again over illegal music downloads, deeming it a winnable cause after last month’s ruling against Yahoo China. The companies are being represented by the IFPI which noted that the record companies had also sued Sohu.com, China’s third largest Internet portal.
The IFPI has stated that China’s market of legally distributed music files is a minuscule $76 million USD, less than 1 percent of the global market.
“It’s a matter of great regret that, despite the clear precedent laid down by the Yahoo China judgment, those Internet companies are instead choosing blatant violation of copyright” and the litigation that accompanies it, said John Kennedy, CEO of the IFPI.
Result for: internet search
Zhongsou, the popular Chinese internet search engine, has been found guilty of copyright infringement and the authorities have ordered the internet company to “stop infringing immediately and pay the maximum penalty of RMB 100,000.” There was also word that three servers belonging to the search engine were taken indefinitely.
In September 2007, the IFPI logged a formal complaint with the Hebei Provincial Copyright Bureau and further investigations led to the revelations that “copyright infringing files accessed by the delivery service were hosted on servers owned by Zhongsou in Cangzhou city in Hebei province.” The ISP Cangzhou Netcom then helped authorities seize the three servers.
The administrative fine of RMB 100,000 that the site must pay is the largest fine for copyright infringement in the history of Hebei province and the first time a site of the nature of Zhongsou has been forced to pay such a fine. Yahoo China and Baidu were found guilty of similar charges but did not pay such a fine.
Leong Mayseey, Regional Director of IFPI Asia, added: “We are pleased with the maximum fine imposed by the administrative authorities against Zhongsou’s blatant and deliberate infringement of our members’ copyright. This should send a signal to other similar infringing music services.
“China has the potential to be one of the most dynamic digital music markets in the world, but legal services cannot compete when household names like Zhongsou deliberately break the law, abuse the rights of others and seek to drive advertising revenue by providing illegal content. We cannot tolerate such abuse of our members’ rights and other internet companies that are breaking the law should be warned that we are coming after them next.”
