Targeting websites dedicated to stealing American intellectual property: hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, first session, February 16, 2011.

The problem of online infringement is real. It is substantial, and it causes a drain on our economy and it costs American jobs. Copyright piracy and the sale of counterfeit goods are reported to cost the American economy billions of dollars a year, thousands of lost jobs. This book includes the testimony of a range of witnesses that testify about how we can make some progress in the fight again online infringement and also the sale of counterfeit goods.

Google’s has proved to be one of the most successful business models in today’s knowledge economy. Its services and applications have become part of our day-to-day life. However, Google has repeatedly been accused of acting outside the law in the development of services such as Adwords, Googlebooks or YouTube. One of the main purposes of this book is to assess whether those accusations are well-founded. But more important than that, this book provides a deeper reflection: are current legal systems adapted to business models such as that of Google or are they conceived for an industrial economy? Do the various lawsuits involving Google show an evolution of the existing legal framework that might favour the flourishing of other knowledge-economy businesses? Or do they simply reflect that Google has gone too far? What lessons can other knowledge-based businesses learn from all the disputes in which Google has been or is involved? This book is valuable reading for legal practitioners and academics in the field of information technologies and intellectual property law, economists interested in knowledge-economy business models and sociologists interested in internet and social networks. Dr. Aurelio Lopez-Tarruella is Senior Lecturer in Private International Law at the University of Alicante, Spain.

Cover -- Contents -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- 1. Secret Handshake Deals -- 2. Internet Firms Become Global Regulators -- 3. Revenue Chokepoints -- 4. Access Chokepoints -- 5. Marketplace Chokepoints -- 6. Changing the Enforcement Paradigm -- 7. A Future for Digital Rights -- Notes -- References -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y

The Hollywood Connection: The Influence of Fictional Media and Celebrity Politics on American Public Opinion is one of the first edited volumes offered in the political science discipline on the effects of fictional media and celebrity on public opinion, and synthesizes many niche areas of research into single text. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of acknowledging a shift in academic focus away from the lateral interactions between celebrities and politicians (and in some cases celebrities becoming politicians) toward research that engages the American audience, as consumers of media, as a critical political component. The volume offers a collection of diverse research on questions treating the effects of fictional media on consumer audiences and the larger implications for American politics. This research collection offers both qualitative and quantitative data sources and showcases a variety of methodological approaches (experimental design, public opinion survey analysis, content analysis, etc.), robust theoretical applications, and encompasses a variety of conduits, ranging from television sitcoms to horror films to the action drama 24, that make it both compelling and timely.