CCIA Defends Google Image Search Against ‘Copyright Troll’

File Under: 2006, Copyright

Jul 20, 2006

The Computer & Communications Industry Association filed a ‘friend of the court’ brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today, defending Google’s Image Search feature against accusations of copyright infringement. CCIA was joined by several associations representing the high-tech, consumer electronics, and telecommunications industries in defending innovation.

“These claims endanger the basic principles by which the Internet works,” said CCIA President and CEO Ed Black. “If these claims were upheld, it would threaten the viability of some of the greatest innovations on the World Wide Web.” The plaintiff, Perfect 10 Inc., is an unsuccessful “adult” content provider-turned-serial copyright litigant, that has unsuccessfully sued major financial services companies for secondary infringement, and has now moved on to Internet intermediaries by suing Google and Amazon.

While a lower court correctly held that Google did not have control over the whole of the Internet, and was therefore not liable for copyright infringement by sites to which it links, the lower court also held that Google’s automatic creation of “thumbnail”-sized images for image searching was not permissible “fair use” under U.S copyright law. The brief explained that this part of the court’s decision bodes poorly for other innovative fair uses of copyrighted works, and threatens Internet users’ ability to find information online.

“By ignoring the fair use doctrine and requiring explicit permission to provide image search services, the court reached a conclusion that, by its own admission, threatens ‘to impede the advance of internet technology’”, the brief argued.

“This is another example of a ‘copyright troll,’” said CCIA Senior Counsel Matthew Schruers. “We are witnessing a disturbing increase in IP litigation by such trolls. These non-producing or failing rights-holders are distorting our intellectual property system into a tool of extortion, rather than one of innovation,” Schruers added. Much like so-called “patent trolls,” these entities exploit the disproportionate statutory damages provided by copyright law in order to hold up innovative high-tech businesses in pursuit of unjustified settlements or damages.

A copy of the brief is available here.

Contact: Will Rodger, 202-783-0070 ext. 105