Google faces lawsuit from Belgian newspapers
By Erina Lin, Tuesday 27 May 2008 at 23:38 :: Copyright :: #1702 :: rss
A group of Belgian newspapers are seeking up to €49.1 million from Google, in a lawsuit over the right to feature links to the publishers' content online, Bloomberg reported.
Copiepresse, a copyright group for newspaper publishers in Belgium, is asking a Brussels court to charge between €32.8 and €49.1 million, according to the group’s secretary-general Margaret Boribon Monday.
Last year, a Belgian court ruled Google violated copyright laws by releasing links to articles on Google News without newspapers’ permission.
After the court ruling, Google and the Belgian newspapers started discussions on a possible agreement. Google appealed, stating that it was a way to keep its options open if the negotiations with the publishers broke down.
“Any attempts to reach an agreement between the two sides have failed,” Boribon told Bloomberg in a phone interview from Brussels.
The damages are in addition to a daily fine of €25,000 which last year the court ordered Google to pay until it removes all Belgian news content. Google then removed its links to Belgian newspapers on its search engine and on Google News.
According to Google’s spokeswoman Jessica Powell, the company hasn't received anything from Copiepresse. “We are waiting for the outcome of the appeal,” she said.
Besides damages, Copiepresse is also seeking to have Google publish “in a visible and clear manner” the court ruling from last year on Google.be and news.Google.be for 20 days. If Google doesn't do so, the group said it would seek a €1 million daily fine, Bloomberg reported.
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