Google is fighting a Belgian ruling blocking it from publishing links to local newspapers on its news service. In another case, it is fighting a lawsuit in which the newspapers demand about EUR49.1m for the period in which their content was visible.
In its 13 February 2007 ruling, the Brussels court had said that there is "no exception" for Google in copyright law. It had ordered Google to remove news content from Belgium’s French- and German-language publications or pay EUR25,000 ($34,300) everyday.
The hearing could have a bearing on the future of search engines and referencing services in Europe, reported Bloomberg.
A lawyer representing Google Erik Valgaeren told the Brussels Court of Appeal that the case will have serious consequences to the way information is searched and managed on the Internet.
Valgaeren said, "A negative ruling would put at risk all referencing services or even cause them to disappear."
Among those that filed the original lawsuit after Google News was introduced in Belgium in 2006 is Copiepresse, a group that represents French and German- language newspapers, and an association that represents journalists on copyright issues.
