February 22, 2006
Google's image search violates some copyrights
A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that Google's image search violates Perfect10's, (an adult Web site) copyrights by displaying "thumbnail'' versions of its photos, according to The Mercury News.
"In a ruling released Tuesday, U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz found Google directly infringed on copyrights held by Perfect 10, a Beverly Hills publisher. He said the free availability of the photos on Google could harm Perfect 10's efforts to sell thumbnail, or small, versions of its photos as downloads to cell phones.
"The court reaches this conclusion despite the enormous public benefit that search engines such as Google provide,'' Matz wrote in a 47-page order filed Friday.
If upheld, the judge's ruling could affect Yahoo and other Internet companies whose image searches display thumbnails of copyrighted pictures.
The judge ordered Google and Perfect 10 to submit by March 8 wording for a preliminary injunction barring the use of the thumbnail images."
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