Google’s image search results don’t constitute direct infringement when copyrighted images show up in the results, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today, reports IP Democracy. Long story short: an adult company Perfect 10 sued Google on showing thumbnails, and after district court ruled against Google, the appeals court reversed some parts of the lower court’s decision, but more importantly it found that Google’s image search didn’t violate Perfect 10’s copyright, even though Google reproduced entirely, albeit in thumbnail format, Perfect 10’s photos.
The main language in the decision: “In this case, Google has put Perfect 10’s thumbnail images (along with millions of other thumbnail images) to a use fundamentally different than the use intended by Perfect 10. In doing so, Google has provided a significant benefit to the public. Weighing this significant transformative use against the unproven use of Google’s thumbnails for cell phone downloads, and considering the other fair use factors, all in light of the purpose of copyright, we conclude that Google’s use of Perfect 10’s thumbnails is a fair use.” Full decision here.
In related news, Google has merged the results of it disparate search services, such as books, YouTube videos and Google’s local shopping information, and will now present them in the main results, a move it calls “universal search”. It is also making other search enhacements: it will soon improve how its search engine discerns the meaning of a query, as in whether someone searching for “AB” means Alberta or air base. Full list of enhancements is here. Also read: “Google sets spotlight on videos”