Internet search services provider Google, Inc., US, has reportedly won a legal victory in Germany on whether image search and showing thumbnails is tantamount to copyright law violation. According to the Google European Public Policy Blog, the German Supreme Court has ruled that Google Image Search does not infringe copyright. The case had been filed by an artist who had uploaded photos of her paintings on her website. She sued Google since the photos were displayed in the company’s image search results.
It is expected that the German ruling would be adopted by other European courts. Google has already successfully defended itself against similar claims in the US under the ‘fair use’ doctrine.
Additionally, Google has won a trademark case involving AdWords, brought to court by Rosetta Stone, an educational content provider. Rosetta Stone contended that the use of its trademarks as ‘keyword triggers’ was an infringement of trademark, and confused its consumers. The judge granted a summary judgment that ends a case before trial – an opinion is yet to be issued.
Earlier, in February 2010, Google came under fire for privacy violation in Italy. Media reports indicate that an Italian court sentenced Google's Chief Legal Officer, Chief Privacy Counsel and former Chief Financial Officer to six months in prison each for violating the nation’s privacy laws. The executives are not likely to serve prison time since Italian criminal laws allow suspension and commutation of short prison sentences for first-time offenders. However, Google has expressed plans to appeal the ruling which, according to observers, exemplifies the need for enterprises operating in Europe to conform to strict privacy laws. The court decision is also seen to raise questions on whether Internet service and content providers that allow third-party content on their sites should step up their monitoring process.
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