Google & Copyright Case in Belgium

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

>From the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL
____________________________

Google loses copyright case in Belgium
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, February 14, 2007

By AOIFE WHITE
Associated Press

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Google Inc. lost a copyright lawsuit 
yesterday to Belgian newspapers that had demanded it remove 
headlines and links to articles posted on its news site without 
their permission.

The ruling, if it stands on appeal, could set a precedent for how 
Web search engines link to copyrighted material in the tumultuous 
arena of online news, according to the Belgian copyright group 
that launched the case.

Google said it would appeal, claiming its Google News service was 
entirely legal and that the Belgian ruling did not set any 
precedent.

The Brussels Court of First Instance ruled that Mountain View, 
Calif.-based Google could not rely on exemptions, such as 
claiming fair use, because it says it reviews press articles when 
it displays headlines, a few lines of text, photos and links to 
the original page.

"Google is reproducing and publishing works protected by 
copyright," it said. "Google cannot call on any exceptions set 
out by law relating to copyright or similar rights."

[SNIP]