Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Internet search giant, Google, has been asked to remove 500,000 links from its index by Microsoft Corp. last month.
Websites believed to be infringing on Microsoft`s copyrights are those offering pirated versions of its Windows operating system and other software.
Google shared the new data to provide a better understanding of the intellectual property abuses on the Internet.
Google has found that about 97 percent of the copyright removal requests received are found to be valid, prompting the offending links to be blocked from its search results.
More than 2.5 million requests in the past 11 months to remove links believed to be violating Microsoft`s copyrights were logged.
This topped the British Phonographic Institute and media firm NBC Universal’s removal requests.
Other copyright owners on Google`s Top 10 list of removal requests include Universal Music and Sony Music and an adult entertainment site, BangBros.com.
Outcry for a crackdown against online piracy by companies was taken to a new level with the effort to legislate a new bill dubbed the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. The proposal caused alarm among major Internet companies who feared the law would smother free speech and innovation.
It was abandoned after fierce opposition that included a one-day blackout of popular websites such as Wikipedia and an online petition drive spearheaded by Google.
The Business Software Alliance, a group that includes Microsoft, initially supported SOPA before reversing its position as the backlash to the proposal intensified.
(With Agency inputs)
