A federal judge dismissed Google’s DMCA claims against SerpApi, ruling that blocking automatic access to public search results is not considered copyright infringement if those results do not include copyrighted content.
Google’s December lawsuit accused SerpApi of violating the DMCA by bypassing SearchGuard, Google’s anti-scraping technology, to collect and resell search results. SerpApi filed for bankruptcy in February. Chief US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers approved the motion, leading to the dismissal of both of Google’s anti-infringement claims.
Court Decision
The decision centers on whether Google’s SearchGuard protects copyrighted work. Google results primarily contain public information, but often include an Information Panel that may contain licensed images.
The court ruled that for non-copyrighted results, SearchGuard cannot control access as there is no protected activity involved. These claims were dismissed without an opportunity to amend, and were successfully dismissed.
For results containing licensed images, the court found that Google did not demonstrate that it was using SearchGuard with the consent of copyright owners, as required by law. These claims were dismissed but with an amendment, allowing Google to try another move.
The court also rejected SerpApi’s argument that Google lacked standing to sue. SerpApi argued that the DMCA only protects copyright owners, and since Google doesn’t own its search results, it couldn’t sue. However, the judge disagreed, clarifying that the protection of the law is not limited to copyright holders only.
What SerpApi says
SerpApi CEO Julien Khaleghy called the decision a breakthrough for open access to public data and said the company will continue to support developers and businesses that rely on public search data:
“We are pleased that the court struck down Google’s efforts to expand the DMCA to control access to public pages. The Internet’s founding principle – open access to usable information – is critical to driving innovation and ensuring that everyone benefits from the promise of data. SerpApi will continue to support developers, AI companies, researchers, and businesses that rely on access to public search information.”
Google did not comment on the decision as of publication.
Why This Matters
The ruling clarifies that disposing of public results without copyrighted content is not a violation of the DMCA in this case, and Google cannot reassert that point.
Scraping transparent search results is much safer than pulling copyrighted extras, such as images in information panels. This limits Google’s ability to use the DMCA against SERP scraping, without ending the lawsuit.
Looking Forward
Google has 21 days to amend its complaint. To keep the copyright claims alive, it will need to present the facts that the court found to be missing, starting with the authorization of the copyright owners to use SearchGuard.
The judge has temporarily suspended discovery until Google makes the necessary amendments and the court rules on any new motion.
Additionally, SerpApi is facing a separate DMCA lawsuit from Reddit that raises similar questions about scraping publicly visible pages. This order addresses only part of that issue.
Featured image: beast01/shutterstock
