This slightly confusing Bloomberg report says that search giant Google has reached some kind of settlement with Belgian photographers and journalists in a copyright dispute over links to newspaper content.
But, and this is where one level of confusion kicks in, this settlement doesn’t deal with the well-publicized lawsuit filed against Google by the Belgian newspaper group, Copiepresse. That lawsuit resulted in a Belgian court order barring Google from linking to Belgian newspapers.
This settlement, the terms of which are not disclosed, is between Google and Belgian copyright groups Sofam, representing about 3,700 photographers, and Scam, which represents journalists. Under the settlement, Google will be able to “make extensive use” of the groups’ content, according to a spokeswoman.
That other case, the Copiepresse case, is still going on—-Google had requested a rehearing because it didn’t participate in the proceedings during the first go-around.
Hmmm…did Google strike a deal with Sofam and Scam to undercut the newspaper group? It’s possible that the search leader is trying to bypass the dead tree content aggregators and forge pacts with the original sources of news — the photogs and journalists. It’s also possible that Google agreed to pay some kind of license fees to Sofam and Scam. Google just agreed to pay the Associated Press for its use of articles and photos.
Cynthia Brumfield at 11:04 AM|Comments(0)
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