Google DMCA lawsuit against SerpApi partially dismissed

Image credit: Abondance

A U.S. court partially dismissed Google‘s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) lawsuit against SerpApi on Thursday, but granted Google leave to amend its complaint regarding content displayed in Knowledge Panels.

The decision allows Google to pursue its claims of copyright infringement against SerpApi, a company that provides scraped Google search results, provided Google addresses a drafting error in its original filing, according to court documents.

The court rejected SerpApi’s argument that Google lacked standing to sue under the DMCA, affirming that Google could file such complaints even if not the sole copyright owner or exclusive licensee.

Claims related to standard search results that did not contain copyrighted material were permanently dismissed by the court because the DMCA specifically protects access to copyrighted works, a condition not met by these particular claims.

Claims concerning licensed content appearing within Google’s Knowledge Panels were dismissed with a stipulation, giving Google 21 days to file an amended complaint to clarify its authorization from copyright holders for that content.

The court sided with Google on several key substantive points, including finding plausible Google’s allegations that SerpApi circumvented its SearchGuard security measures, which are designed to prevent automated access to Google’s search results.

The discovery process, which involves the exchange of evidence between the parties, has been temporarily suspended pending Google’s decision on whether to file the amended complaint.

The ruling represents a procedural victory for Google, clearing a path for the core of its copyright infringement case against SerpApi to proceed if the company chooses to revise its complaint as permitted by the court.

Source: Abondance