WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Changes that Google Inc and the Authors Guild made to an ambitious plan to create a massive online library were inadequate because they fail to address antitrust and copyright concerns, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

Google’s plan to put millions of books online has been praised for expanding access to books but has also been vociferously criticized on antitrust and copyright grounds.

The deal was amended last year after the Justice Department recommended that the original settlement be rejected but more changes were needed, a Justice Department official said on Thursday, on background.

“They made substantial progress but in our view they haven’t gone far enough,” the official told Reuters.

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Changes that Google Inc <GOOG.O> and the Authors Guild made to an ambitious plan to create a massive online library were inadequate because they fail to address antitrust and copyright concerns, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

Google’s plan to put millions of books online has been praised for expanding access to books but has also been vociferously criticized on antitrust and copyright grounds.

The deal was amended last year after the Justice Department recommended that the original settlement be rejected but more changes were needed, a Justice Department official said on Thursday, on background.

“They made substantial progress but in our view they haven’t gone far enough,” the official told Reuters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An antiquated computer system which crashes and idles thousands of workers is “frankly embarrassing,” says U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos, a former International Business Machines executive who estimates it would take several hundred million dollars to upgrade.

And the agency, which Kappos took over in April, has other woes, including a budget shortfall that is making it hard to hire enough examiners now that patent activity is picking up.

The patent office takes an average of 34.6 months to approve or reject a patent application — a maddening length of time for fast-moving technology firms.

The patent office is in financial trouble in terms of day-to-day spending, facing a potential $200-million shortfall for the 2010 fiscal year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congress should enact a law laying the groundwork for protecting consumers who use the Internet “cloud” to store data before states come in with an unwieldy patchwork of conflicting legislation, said Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith on Wednesday.

Smith, who said Microsoft had invested “billions” to build a cloud infrastructure, called for federal laws that would improve privacy protections and strengthen law enforcement in going after hackers.

He also urged companies building massive amounts of remote storage for data — which is essentially what the cloud is — to be upfront with consumers about how their photos, email and other data in the cloud might be used and what measures are being taken to fend off hackers and thieves.

“It would mean that cloud service providers would be obligated to provide consumers in plain language about … what rights they have — the cloud service providers — to use the information,” he said. “It would ensure that consumers get clear information on their rights.”

WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Friday that it found no violation of General Electric <GE.N> wind turbine patents by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd <7011.T>, and it terminated its investigation.

General Electric has been battling with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries over patents in a trade agency proceeding that was closely watched by some U.S. lawmakers.

The ITC said on Friday that it found no violation of GE patents by Mitsubishi Heavy, and it terminated its investigation.

GE filed the lawsuit in 2008, alleging Mitsubishi Heavy infringed two GE patents. It later added a third patent to the lawsuit, according to Mitsubishi Heavy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Friday that it found no violation of General Electric wind turbine patents by Mitsubishi, and it terminated its investigation.

General Electric has been battling with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries over patents in a trade agency proceeding that was closely watched by some U.S. lawmakers.

The ITC said on Friday that it found no violation of GE patents by Mitsubishi, and it terminated its investigation.

GE filed the lawsuit in 2008, alleging Mitsubishi infringed two GE patents. It later added a third patent to the lawsuit, according to Mitsubishi.

WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Friday that it found no violation of General Electric <GE.N> wind turbine patents by Mitsubishi <8058.T>, and it terminated its investigation.

General Electric has been battling with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries over patents in a trade agency proceeding that was closely watched by some U.S. lawmakers.

The ITC said on Friday that it found no violation of GE patents by Mitsubishi, and it terminated its investigation.

GE filed the lawsuit in 2008, alleging Mitsubishi infringed two GE patents. It later added a third patent to the lawsuit, according to Mitsubishi.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has a team of litigators prepared to oppose the merger of ticketing giant Ticketmaster and concert promoter Live Nation and could decide to take the deal to court, antitrust sources said on Wednesday.

“The DOJ has had a litigation team preparing the case for litigation for months,” one antitrust source said, adding that TheDeal.com publication was “inaccurate” in reporting that the Justice Department was prepared to approve the deal.

“From the best we can tell, no decision has been made,” said a second antitrust source. “We have the impression that efforts to settle have fallen through.”

Shares of both Ticketmaster and Live Nation opened higher on TheDeal.com report but later slid back somewhat on news of potential Justice Department opposition.

WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has a team of litigators prepared to oppose the merger of ticketing giant Ticketmaster <TKTM.O> and concert promoter Live Nation <LYV.N> and could decide to take the deal to court, antitrust sources said on Wednesday.

“The DOJ has had a litigation team preparing the case for litigation for months,” one antitrust source said, adding that TheDeal.com publication was “inaccurate” in reporting that the Justice Department was prepared to approve the deal.

“From the best we can tell, no decision has been made,” said a second antitrust source. “We have the impression that efforts to settle have fallen through.”

Shares of both Ticketmaster and Live Nation opened higher on TheDeal.com report but later slid back somewhat on news of potential Justice Department opposition.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The government agency that supervises the communications industry should free up unused airwaves to make the high-speed Internet access market more competitive, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also should make it harder for big wireless phone companies to win spectrum auctions, the Justice Department said in comments it submitted to the commission.

The Justice Department’s recommendations are among the comments that the FCC is seeking from the public as it develops a plan to make high-speed, or “broadband” Internet access available throughout the United States. The FCC is supposed to submit the plan to Congress next month.

The point of the plan is to make high-speed Internet access available to more people at affordable prices.