Copiepresse members will use an automated system to keep Google
from saving its content in its cache, but that is a technical fix
that has always been available to the group.
References to the 17 newspapers represented by Copiepresse will
return to the normal Google search engine, but their stories will
not yet return to the Google News service.
The actual websites of the newspapers will be findable on
Google, but the content will be protected by a 'noarchive' tag.
"The websites of the Belgian French and German-language daily
press will now appear without a 'cached' link in the search results
of Google's search engine, thanks to their use of the 'noarchive'
tag," said a statement from Copiepresse and Google.
Copiepresse won a Belgian court case earlier this year in which
it argued that Google's use of its members' headlines and news
stories on the Google News service infringed their copyright. It
also objected to the practice of Google's caching material, which
involves saving it on Google servers for delivery to viewers
independently of the newspaper websites.
"This decision was made jointly by Google and Copiepresse as
part of the constructive dialogue that has resumed between the two
organizations," said the statement. "The Belgian French and German
language daily press publishers and Google intend to use a quiet
period in the court dispute to continue their efforts to identify
tangible ways to collaborate in the long term."
After the Belgian court's ruling, Google removed its links to
the newspapers' websites. Those links have now been restored.
In its lawsuit Copiepresse wanted Google to seek permission to
use any content but did want members to be able to choose for their
content to appear in Google News. Google News does not host entire
articles, but sends readers to the newspaper websites
themselves.
Google insists that its Google News service is lawful because it
publishes so little of each story. It says it removes any material
on request from the copyright owner. It is appealing the ruling of
the Belgian Court of First Instance.
