AFP Sues Google News

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Randall <rvh40 () INSIGHTBB COM>
Reply-To: Law & Policy of Computer Communications
<CYBERIA-L () LISTSERV AOL COM>
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 12:57:53 -0500
To: <CYBERIA-L () LISTSERV AOL COM>
Subject: [CYBERIA] AFP Sues Google News

Agence France Presse Sues Over Google News
Sat Mar 19, 7:17 AM ET



By Lisa Baertlein

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Agence France Presse has sued Google Inc.
(Nasdaq:GOOG - news), alleging the Web search leader includes AFP's
photos, news headlines and stories on its news site without permission.


The French news service is seeking damages of at least $17.5 million and
an order barring Google News from displaying AFP photographs, news
headlines or story leads, according to the suit filed on Thursday in the
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

"We allow publishers to opt out of Google News but most publishers want
to be included because they believe it is a benefit to them and to their
readers," Google spokesman Steve Langdon said of the AFP lawsuit. The
attorney for AFP was not immediately available for comment.

AFP sells subscriptions to its content and does not provide it free.
Google News gathers photos and news stories from around the Web and
posts them on its news site, which is free to users.

"Without AFP's authorization, defendant is continuously and willfully
reproducing and publicly displaying AFP's photographs, headlines and
story leads on its Google News web pages," AFP charged in its lawsuit.

AFP said it has informed Google that it is not authorized to use AFP's
copyrighted material as it does and has asked Google to cease and desist
from infringing its copyrighted work.

AFP alleged that Google has ignored such requests and as of the filing
date of the lawsuit "continues in an unabated manner to violate AFP's
copyrights."

The lawsuit comes a few months after Perfect 10, a publisher of nude
photographs, sued Google in federal court in Los Angeles.

In that lawsuit, Perfect 10 charged that Google illegally allowed people
to view hijacked versions of photos it owns and produced, violating
copyrights and harming its ability to profit from the distribution of
the photos via its magazine and Web site.

"I'm very happy that other people who are 'more respectable' than myself
are suing," Norm Zada, president of Beverly Hills, California-based
Perfect 10, told Reuters.

Zada added that other Web search providers display illegally obtained
versions of copyrighted photos.

In 2002, a federal appeals court ruled that Web sites may reproduce and
post "thumbnail" or down-sized versions of copyrighted photographs. But
the court said displaying full-sized copies of photographs is a
copyright violation.

Langdon declined comment on the Perfect 10 litigation.


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request () listserv aol com
**********************************************************************

------ End of Forwarded Message


-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org
To manage your subscription, go to
  http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/