GoogleNews caught in more copyright infringements

Reuters reports that Agence France Presse is suing Google for using their photos, headlines, and story leads on GoogleNews. AFP, which charges for its material, demanded that Google cease to use its content, which users can read free of charge. Google already ran into this problem in Japan in September 2004 when one of the country's major dailies, Yomiuri Shimbun, refused to allow Google to post its editorial at the launch of GoogleNews Japan and in the United States with the nude photo publication Perfect 10, which accused Google of allowing browsers to freely access its images through websites that had pirated them. If this trend continues and various publishers team up against Google focusing on their own branded RSS feeds, it's possible that there could be a backlash against aggregated news sites. If they're successful, newspapers may yet find a feasible way to add to their online revenue by charging readers for their breaking news.

Source: Reuters