would copy that approach. Free dailies today In less than 10 years these papers were introduced in almost every European country and in several markets in the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Asia. There are, as of 2008, free newspapers in at least 58 countries. Market leader Metro distributes seven million copies daily, while other companies publish 14 million copies. These 22 million copies are read by at least 45 million people daily. Worldwide, there are now over 44 million free newspaper editions being distributed on an average day, up from 24 million in 2005. Europe has the vast majority of daily free papers at 28.5 million, with the Americas at 6.8 million and Asia/Pacific/Africa regions at 8.6 million. Entrepreneurs Since 2000, many free dailies have been introduced including three in Hong Kong and three in Vancouver, B.C. Besides Metro, another successful publisher is Norway's Schibsted. In Switzerland, Spain and France it publishes 20 minutes, the name indicating the time people need to read it. Schibsted also had some disappointments. A German version had to be taken from the market after a bitter newspaper war with local publishers in Cologne, while an Italian edition never saw the streets because of legal matters (non-EU companies could not control Italian media firms, but this did not prevent the Italian market from becoming flooded with free newspapers). The Schibsted editions have a total circulation of 1.7 million. In March 2006 former Palo Alto Daily News managing editor Jeramy Gordon launched the Santa Barbara Daily Sound in Santa Barbara, California. Less than two months later, Dave Price (journalist) and Jim Pavelich launched the San Francisco Daily, which in 2008 morphed into the Palo Alto Daily Post, moving offices from San Francisco to Palo Alto. Legal battles In almost every European market where free newspapers were introduced there have been lawsuits on every possible ground, from unfair competition to littering, from the right on the name Metro to quarrels over the right to be distributed through public transport. This kind of distribution is by no means the only way free papers are distributed: racks in busy places like shopping centers, universities, restaurants (McDonald's), and hospitals, and delivery by hand on the street, outside railway stations, or door-to-door delivery are also used. In the United States, the owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and The New York Times sued the Southeastern Pennsylvania