Pornography site files suit against Google

Adult content publisher Perfect 10 is seeking an injunction against Google to stop the search giant from allegedly displaying copyright images of its models.

Perfect 10, in a filing on Wednesday with the US District Court in Los Angeles, asked the court to immediately halt Google from allegedly copying, displaying and distributing more than 3,000 Perfect 10 photos.

Norm Zada, founder of Perfect 10, said: "Google is directly infringing on our copyrights. They are copying and showing our work on their Web site. They are also placing ads on these Web sites that are infringing on our work."

Perfect 10 first became aware of Google serving up text links to other Web sites that allegedly carried copyright images of Perfect 10 models back in 2001, Zada said in an interview on Thursday. The company then sent notices to Google, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, asking the search giant to discontinue linking to the other sites.

Last year, Zada said, he learned Google was allegedly displaying photos of its copyright work on its Web site through its images feature that links to other Web sites. Perfect 10's request for an injunction is part of a copyright infringement lawsuit that it filed in November against Google.

Google did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. (Google representatives have instituted a policy of not talking with CNET News.com reporters until July 2006 in response to privacy issues raised by a previous story.)

Perfect 10's lawsuit against Google is similar to one it filed against Amazon.com in July. In that suit, Perfect 10 makes similar allegations against Amazon's A9 search engine.

In June, the US Supreme Court weighed in on the issue of copyright infringement. The court ruled that companies that are created with the intent of encouraging copyright infringement should be held liable for their customers' illegal actions.

Within days of the court's ruling, Google found that people had uploaded and watched copyright content such as the movie "The Matrix" via its new video search tool. The search company quickly removed much of the full-length studio and television content.