Google Prevails in Copyright Suit

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Google Inc.’s Web search systems infringe a publisher’s copyright, a minor victory for the company, which faces numerous suits charging that its services trample the rights of authors.

In a ruling issued March 10 and made known Thursday, Judge R. Barclay Surrick of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania rejected 11 allegations contained in a civil complaint by Gordon Roy Parker of Philadelphia.

Parker, an online publisher of sexual seduction guides with such titles as “Why Hotties Choose Losers,” is a former paralegal who was acting on his own behalf in suing Google. His site also offers racetrack betting and chess-playing tips.

The 11 claims against Google had included accusations of copyright and trademark infringement, invasion of privacy, negligence, racketeering, abuse of legal process and civil conspiracy, court documents said.

Surrick found that Google was protected by an exemption to the Communications Decency Act for online service providers acting as an automatic re-distributor of published material.

Parker’s original 72-page complaint had argued that Google was responsible for anonymous Web postings attacking him in Usenet newsgroups that Google archives and via the newsgroup and general Web search systems it offers.