A US court has ruled that Google’s Image search service
breaches copyright by displaying thumbnail photographs, in a case
brought by an adult content magazine.
Judge Howard Matz ruled that,“Google’s creation and public
display of ‘thumbnails’ likely do directly infringe P10’s
copyrights”, after a preliminary injunction hearing of the case
brought by Perfect 10, which produces a magazine and website
featuring nude models.
Google’s display of thumbnails in image search results pages
would not be likely to fall within a “fair use” exception to
copyright law, he said.
In his ruling, the judge added: “The court reaches this
conclusion despite the enormous public benefit that search engines
such as Google provide.
“Although the court is reluctant to issue a ruling that might
impede the advance of internet technology, and although it is
appropriate for courts to consider the immense value to the public
of such technologies, existing judicial precedents do not allow
such considerations to trump a reasoned analysis of the four
fair-use factors.”
But Google could not be held liable for links to third party
sites that had used copyrighted images without permission, Judge
Matz found.
The ruling is likely to have a knock-on effect on other search
engines producing thumbnail images. The search companies are
already under fire from the World Association of Newspapers, which
is seeking to “challenge the exploitation of content” because of
the way they aggregate news content without paying for it.
Agence France Presse has filed a lawsuit against Google,
claiming the search company offers its photos and stories without
permission.