Hollywood studios have struggled with Google over piracy issues before, but a new leak suggests the companies may be patching up their differences with some unexpected help from Homeland Security. A leaked email sent to Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton on March 19, 2012, provides a new look at how Google fits into anti-piracy efforts, in Hollywood and beyond. The email describes a small, secret group assembled by Homeland Security's John Morton, apparently assembled to address piracy and other crimes on the web. Sent by a member of Sony's legal affairs team, the email suggests the meeting as a place where the company's "Google issues" can be resolved. "Google is apparently willing to do more than its public (and not so public) positions," the email says.

"Google is apparently willing to do more than its public (and not so public) positions."

On the web side, the group includes a senior ICANN member and Vint Cerf, Google's Chief Internet Evangelist as well as a pivotal figure in the creation of the internet. On the corporate side, the group includes a surprising array of companies that have faced and fought back various piracy and copyright issues. The President and CEO of Eli Lilly is involved, as a result of the company's successful fight against counterfeit pharmaceuticals sold online. The language service Rosetta Stone is also included, as well as representatives from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. There's no firm indication of the meeting's subject matter, but given the long and often tense relationship between Google and the content industry, it seems likely that piracy issues would quickly find their way to the top of the agenda.

The email is reproduced in full below: