In what could spell bad news for the use of copyrighted material on the Internet, a US District Court judge, A Howard Matz, has ruled that the free availability of Perfect 10's adult entertainment thumbnail images on Google's image search "likely" amounts to copyright infringement.
Judge Matz has ruled that Google's display of the Perfect 10 thumbnail images likely does not fall within "fair use exemption". Typically, limited use of copyrighted works such as for criticism, comment, news reporting or teaching is legally admissible.
Matz has ordered Google and Perfect 10 to submit by March 8, wording for a preliminary injunction barring Google from using the copyrighted thumbnail images. Matz said that the court has reached this conclusion in spite of the huge public benefit that search engines like Google provide.
Matz noted that while Perfect 10 has signed a licensing agreement with Fonestarz Media to sell its copyrighted images for download to cell phones, these images are available for free on Google.
The ruling - if upheld, will affect other Internet companies whose image searches display thumbnails of copyrighted pictures.
Perfect 10 is an adult magazine, and also operates a subscription Web site which claims to feature "the world's most beautiful natural women''. The publisher claims it has spent nearly $36 million over the past nine years building its brand, including around $12 million spent capturing 800 models in the copyright photos in question.
Google image search displays thumbnail images when people submit a query on a particular subject; when a user clicks on the thumbnail, he or she is taken to the original source of the full-sized image.
Perfect 10 had earlier filed suit against Google and Amazon for allegedly displaying its copyrighted images. The latest ruling concerns only Google, but Matz has noted that Amazon licenses from Google much of the technology that is the focus of the lawsuits.
Michael Kwun, legal counsel, Google, said in a statement that the company is disappointed with "portions" of the preliminary injunction, but that this will not affect the vast majority of image searches. Kwun said that Google would probably appeal the injunction.
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Google Search Violates Copyright
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