Internet giants on back foot after shopping giant admitted it receives more in government grants than it pays in UK corporate tax

Outlook Who says politics is boring? There was another entertaining session of the Public Accounts Committee today as Google's Matt Brittin received a fresh savaging from the chair Margaret Hodge over the internet giant's tax avoidance. The climax came when Ms Hodge told Mr Brittin: "I think you do do evil". The spanking followed revelations about Amazon's minuscule corporation tax bill earlier in the week. How Ms Hodge must have wished she'd been able to give Jeff Bezos a tongue lashing too.

The creative industries contribute an extra £3bn a year to the UK economy thanks to the value of their intellectual property (IP) and copyright.

Designers want action taken against market in fake goods

In France, the Hadopi law introduced a “three-strike” procedure leading to suspension of internet access for repeat offenders. More than 700,000 notices have been sent, reaching around 10 per cent of peer-to-peer file-sharers in France.

Yahoo is threatening to sue Facebook for allegedly infringing more than a dozen patents covering how to personalise websites, serve adverts and run a social network.

A Chinese firm which claims that it owns the iPad trademark in China is to ask customs officials to block shipments of Apple's iconic device in a move that could potentially disrupt the technology giant's supply chain.

Three productions clash with the DiCaprio blockbuster – so which will end in tragedy?

Wikipedia blacked out the English language version of its website today in protest at anti-piracy laws being considered by the US government.

On the last day of 2011, the 70th anniversary year of his death, James Joyce's work finally passed out of copyright. It was the dawn of a new age for Joyce scholars, publishers and biographers who are now free to quote or publish him without the permission of the ferociously prohibitive Joyce estate.

Changes to intellectual property (IP) systems, including copyright, could add up to £7.9 billion to the UK's economy, according to a review.

An independent review that could lead to a dramatic overhaul of copyright law in Britain is finally scheduled to be released next week. The Hargreaves Review into the country's intellectual-property framework, launched by the Prime Minister in November, had been due for publication in April but was delayed until after the local elections. However, The Independent has learned that Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary, will tomorrow join the academic Ian Hargreaves, who chaired the inquiry, at a briefing for key industry figures. The review's findings will then be formally made public next week.

In his excellent obituary of John Barry (1 February), Spencer Leigh stated: "When the music of Gilbert and Sullivan came out of copyright in 1962...", writes John Crisp. This is wrong. In those days copyright lasted for 50 years after the death of the composer or the author. Sir Arthur Sullivan died in 1900 so his music came out of copyright on 1 January 1951, a fact celebrated by John Cranko and Charles Mackerras by creating a ballet, Pineapple Poll, using Sullivan's music. Sir William Gilbert died in 1911 and so only after 1 January 1962 could his words of the operas be used for other purposes – which resulted in The Cool Mikado.

The Government is to save £600,000 a year by axing four more business quangos, it was revealed today.