Google to appeal German copyright decisions
Google lost two copyright cases in Germany on Monday but the search company reportedly plans to appeal.
A German court ruled that Google violated the copyright of Michael Bernhard by displaying one of his photographs as a preview thumbnail, according to the Bloomberg news service.
Separately, a German court ruled in favor of Thomas Horn, who owns the copyright to some German comics that appeared in Google's search results.
In Bernhard's case, the court ruled "that it doesn't matter that thumbnails are much smaller than the original pictures and are displayed in a lower resolution," Bloomberg reported.
Google told the blog paidContent.org: "We believe that services like Google Image Search are entirely legal. Today's decision is very bad for Internet users in Germany."
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 



The bill that was voted down thankfully (Orphan works) in the US did nothing to protect graphic artists in cases where their works were stolen, nor did it set standards for paying back when discovered.
This case is a step in the right direction for protecting artists from theft of their materials and works that otherwise world be sold in stores.
Has anyone ever considered that the Internet is the foundation for a widespread - and I may add cheap - Public Relation system that increases the potential for expanded sales?
- by irondog1970 October 14, 2008 8:18 AM PDT
- People should read the Gridlock Economy by Michael Heller. There has to be a common ground that will both protect the artists & copyright holders as well as benefiting the public with the free flow of information. While the tragedy of the commons is certainly real; but there is also just as real tragedy of the anticommons.
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