Copyright tussles for Google
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In the 1970s, an adult movie theater in Dallas claimed it had the right to show a pirated copy of “Behind the Green Door” because the movie was so lewd it could not legally be copyrighted. The theater lost when a federal appeals court ruled that the film, which featured Marilyn Chambers in a then-novel scene of interracial sex, nevertheless was fully covered by federal copyright law. In an unusual twist, Google recently echoed that argument when defending its reproductions of professional photographs of scantily-clad women through its popular image-search feature. Google claimed the photographs are not “creative” enough to enjoy copyright law’s full protections because they’re intended primarily for “sexual gratification.” A federal court rejected that claim earlier this year. That lawsuit is not an aberration. As Google becomes more deeply interested in books and video, and expands its search domain beyond Web pages, it has found itself increasingly at odds with established copyright industries including book publishers, journalists, and professional photographers. In addition, its keyword advertising has antagonized some trademark holders, though Google did prevail against Geico in a dispute two years ago. “It’s part of their absolutist approach,” said Joshua Kaufman, an attorney representing Agence France-Presse in the wire service’s copyright dispute with Google. “I think they’re afraid that if they give an inch, it becomes a slippery slope. It’s all or nothing.” Some spats between copyright holders and Internet companies are inevitable. Search engine operators would like to index, sort, and regurgitate photographs, videos and text found on the Web without forking over licensing fees. Copyright holders, on the other hand, want to make more money from their content. More : news.com |