Google applauds Germany's weakened online copyright law

March 01, 2013

The German Bundestag has adopted a controversial, but weakened, online copyright bill that gives publishers the exclusive right to make commercial use of their publications on the Internet. The bill aims to protect publishers against systematic access to copyrighted content by search engine providers like Google and other services such as news aggregators. The Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's legislature, adopted the bill on Friday, by 293 votes to 243 with three abstentions. To become law, the bill still needs the approval of state government delegates in Germany's upper house, the Bundesrat, a Bundestag spokesperson said. The bill initially aimed to stop search engines from reproducing headlines and parts of news articles without the publishers consent, only allowing them to republish news snippets with permission or a paid license from the publishers. However, it was changed by a legislative committee earlier this week, making it unclear what its impact will be if it becomes law. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2029750/google-applauds-germanys-weakened-online-copyright-law.html