Reuters (www.reuters.com) announced on November 23 that a California-based pornographer has sued the search engine giant Google Inc. (www.google.com), alleging that it is illegally allowing people to view hijacked versions of nude photos. Beverly Hills, California-based Perfect 10 (www.perfect10.com) said in a lawsuit filed on November 19 in a Los Angeles federal court that Google's image search engine www.google.com/imghp gives users illegal access to photos it owns and produced, violating copyrights and harming its ability to profit from the distribution of the photos via its magazine and Web site.
Furthermore, a Google search for "perfect10.com passwords" serves up a list of usernames and passwords that enable searchers to access Perfect 10's Web site and bypass its $25.50 monthly membership fee. In its lawsuit, Perfect 10 charges Google with copyright and trademark infringement and circumvention of copyright protection systems. It further alleges trademark dilution, unfair competition and violation of rights of publicity. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Norm Zada, president of Perfect 10, said that Google is showing the pictures from his magazine and his Web site for free so that there's no reason for anyone to buy his products, and that to add insult to injury, Google gives away his user names and passwords. Zada added that his company had sent almost 30 formal requests to Google asking it to remove the photos and password lists from its search results, and that Perfect 10 sues Google after being dissatisfied with the search engine’s response.
