Last winter, Google discussed its efforts to improve how copyright works online. They outlined four changes that they’d be implementing, including:

1. Acting on reliable copyright takedown requests within 24 hours
2. Preventing terms that are closely associated with piracy from appearing in autocomplete
3. Improving AdSense anti-piracy review
4. Experimenting to make authorized preview content more readily accessible in search results.

Today, Google discussed some of the strides it has made with these initiatives in a post on its Public Policy blog.

The company says it has built tools for making it easier for rightsholders to submit DMCA takedown requests for Google products, starting with Blogger and Web Search and that they’re being used by over a dozen content industry partners successfully, accounting for over 75% of all URLs submitted in DMCA takedowns for web search. Google also started filtering terms associated with infringement from Autocomplete.

Google SVP and General Counsel Kent Walker writes, “We have always prohibited the use of our AdSense program on web pages that provide infringing materials, and we routinely terminate publishers who violate our policies. In recent months, we have worked hard to improve our internal enforcement procedures. In April, we were among the first companies to certify compliance in the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB’s) Quality Assurance Certification program, through which participating advertising companies will take steps to enhance buyer control over the placement and context of advertising and build brand safety. In addition, we have invited rightsholder associations to identify their top priority sites for immediate review, and have acted on those tips when we have received them.”

“We have launched Music Rich Snippets, which allow legitimate music sites to highlight content in the snippets that appear in Google’s Web Search results,” he continues. “Rhapsody and MySpace are among the first to implement this feature, which has been developed using open web markup standards, and we are looking forward to more sites and search engines marking up their pages. We hope that authorized music sites will take advantage of Music Rich Snippets to make their preview content stand out in search results.”

More on this feature here.

I have a feeling that whole emphasis on identity might factor into Google’s plans, at least for promoting accountability.