Internet content can’t stay free, publishers warn

Search engines ‘ parasitic’ for gaining from others’ work European publishers issue demand for copyright protection

BRUSSELS— European publishers say they can’t keep allowing Internet search engines such as Google Inc. to make money from their content. “The new models of Google and others reverse the traditional permission- based copyright model of content trading that we have built up over the years,” Francisco Pinto Balsemao, the head of the European Publishers Council, said yesterday in prepared remarks for a speech at a Brussels conference.

His stance backs French news agency AFP, which is suing Google for pulling together photos and story excerpts from thousands of news websites.

“ It is fascinating to see how these companies ‘help themselves’ to copyright-protected material, build up their own business models around what they have collected, and parasitically, earn advertising revenue off the back of other people’s content. This is unlikely to be sustainable for publishers.” The news section of Google’s website doesn’t display ads. But the company depends on visitors clicking on ads in other parts of its site to generate revenue, which totalled $ 4.2 billion (U.S.) through the first nine months of this year. A Google spokesman has said websites can request removal, but most “ want to be included in Google News because they believe it is a benefit to them and their readers.” Balsemao said consumers were drawn online by free content but this needed to change.

“ The value of content must be understood by consumers so that new business models can evolve. Industry must have legal certainty . . . that their intellectual property will be protected.”

Last March, Agence FrancePresse claimed Google News infringed on AFP’s copyrights by reproducing information from the websites of subscribers of the Paris news wholesaler.

It is seeking at least $ 17.5 million ( U. S.) in damages, claiming Google’s news site looks like the one seen by AFP subscribers.