Perfect 10 also alleges that, if searched, Google provides links
to sites revealing passwords to the subscription only site,
according to Reuters.
The action was brought after the company had asked Google to
rectify the situation on almost 30 occasions.
"They're showing the pictures from my magazine and my web site
for free so there's no reason for anyone to buy my products. To add
insult to injury, they give away my user names and passwords,"
Norman Zada, the publisher behind Perfect 10, told Reuters.
The action, which seeks an unspecified amount of damages,
follows on from a copyright ruling in 2002 relating to a search
engine that provided miniature images in search results, known as
thumbnails, and linked to the original image framed within the
search engine's own site.
On that occasion the court ruled that thumbnails themselves did
not infringe copyright because they amounted to "fair use" of the
originals.
According to reports, while Google uses thumbnails in its search
results, the complaint alleges that the search shows links to sites
that use full size versions of the images – in breach of copyright
law.
