Biz (2586)

Google did violate copyright law in Belgium

Must remove offending content or face daily fine

13 February 2007 16:04 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Google did violate copyright laws by publishing links to Belgian newspapers without permission a Brussels court ruled setting a precedent for future cases.

The outcome means Google must remove the links within its search engine and pay a 25,000 euro fine every day until it removes all Belgian news content.

There is "no exception" for Google in copyright law, the court said.

The case may restrict how internet sites in Europe link to newspaper content.

Google said it was disappointed with the decision and that it planned to file a further appeal. "We believe that Google News is entirely legal", the company said.

It said that it posts only a short snippet of newspaper stories on its website and that users must click through to a newspaper's website to read the full story.

Full tags

Biz, Lawsuits, Google, Email, NASA, Zune, Censorship, iPod, Gaming