Court rules Google search small images are 'fair use'
From the Mercury News:
A federal appeals court Wednesday said Google does not infringe the copyrights of adult entertainment company Perfect 10 by displaying small versions of its images in search results.But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a lower court should reconsider whether Google helps violate copyrights by pointing people to sites that display unauthorized photos.
A U.S. District Court judge last year issued a preliminary injunction against Google, finding that Perfect 10 had submitted enough evidence to suggest the search engine directly violated copyrights by displaying the small image, known as a "thumbnail," even though the full-size image was on a third party's Web site.
But the judge said Google could not be held liable for the actions of a user who clicks on the thumbnail and is directed to a site that contains illegal copies of Perfect 10's photos.