SAE Magazine 12-2

The procedure is sufficiently well-known: Y ou enter a search word into Google, click on “Images” on the top left and a whole selection of drawings, graphics, photos etc. are displayed often which have little to do with the search word. This content offered by Google comes in the form of so-called “preview images” i.e. images which are generally copied in a data- compressed format from the website they were found and if you click on them you are taken to the website. It is almost invariably assumed that Google has not obtained permission to publish a thumbnail from all these people who have created these works or taken these photographs. In reality it has taken a long time until a photographer or artist dared to go up against the Internet giant and take Google to court to request that they stop publishing these im- ages without permission from the creators. Whether Google is allowed to do this or not is a simple question with serious consequences. If a court was to affirm the right of creators and produc- ers to prohibit this then the search engine’s scope of application would be severely curtailed right from the outset. The Bundesgerichtshof [Federal Supreme Court] actually determined that this type of preview images did not form an exception in any way. The thumbnails which appear on Google are, in the opinion of the Bundesgerichtshof, clear- ly subject to copyright. The overall verdict of the BGH made users happy but was an unhappy result for artists. The BGH decided that placing works/ images on the Internet includes permission for these images to be used by image search engines. In addition authorising the use of such an image on the Inter- net by third parties also includes this permission. If the copyright holder or photographer does not want this, they must either take technical steps to prevent the copying of an image or if rights are granted to third parties they must be obligated to likewise protect these images. Avictory for the giant, Google and a (small) defeat for copyright holders and photographers. What this solution will mean for users in the long term remains to be seen. It can anyhow be expect- ed that images on the Internet will become more protected and contractual licensing for this type of use will become more complicated. A step towards a copy-protected Internet. n Whether Google is allowed to do this or not … 129 Production & Know How // Law Index

SAE Magazine 12-2

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