Google News is an unusual case where the dominant firm of the market for searches allegedly abuses its position by using news which publishers consider as subject to their copyright. Publishers claim that there is an antitrust violation and Google’s service diverts users on its sites, reducing traffic for competitors. All such allegations hinge on the issue of snippets as really works of authorship, as such protected. Several interpretations of copyright laws are possible to provide an answer. Some states have responded by enacting new legislation and introducing neighboring rights on fragments of news, thus preventing Google from freely using headlines and excerpts for it purposes. Where protection was reinforced, Google’s reaction was to discontinue the service, while in other situations it entered into private arrangements with online publishers, thus confirming that in an evolutionary perspective copyright laws only set the stage for efficient solutions that are found by market players in the shadow of the law.

What Does Not Kill You Makes You Stronger. Legal Evolutionism and the Unusual Cases of Google News

GRANIERI, MASSIMILIANO
2015-01-01

Abstract

Google News is an unusual case where the dominant firm of the market for searches allegedly abuses its position by using news which publishers consider as subject to their copyright. Publishers claim that there is an antitrust violation and Google’s service diverts users on its sites, reducing traffic for competitors. All such allegations hinge on the issue of snippets as really works of authorship, as such protected. Several interpretations of copyright laws are possible to provide an answer. Some states have responded by enacting new legislation and introducing neighboring rights on fragments of news, thus preventing Google from freely using headlines and excerpts for it purposes. Where protection was reinforced, Google’s reaction was to discontinue the service, while in other situations it entered into private arrangements with online publishers, thus confirming that in an evolutionary perspective copyright laws only set the stage for efficient solutions that are found by market players in the shadow of the law.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11379/492158
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