Google hit with copyright lawsuit by Danish online job-search rival

Alphabet’s Google was hit with a lawsuit on Thursday by Danish on-line job-search rival Jobindex, a yr after the latter complained to EU antitrust regulators that the US tech big unfairly favoured its personal job-search service.

The Danish Media Association on behalf of Jobindex sued Google at a Danish courtroom alleging copyright violations.

Jobindex has accused Google of copying job adverts to its personal service with out permission and desires compensation and damages for copyright violations.

This is the primary lawsuit within the Danish courts below new EU copyright guidelines relating to platforms’ legal responsibility for content material uploaded to their companies that got here into pressure in 2021.

“We’re willing to compete with Google, but it must be on equal terms, not with Google for Jobs having products on its shelves that aren’t theirs,” Jobindex Chief Executive Kaare Danielsen mentioned in a press release.

Danish Media Association CEO Mads Brandstrup urged Danish authorities to implement the copyright guidelines in opposition to Big Tech.

Jobindex has not used Google’s instruments for flagging copyright infringing content material, a Google spokesperson mentioned. “The Jobs function in Google Search was created to make job search as simple as possible, making it easier for people to find relevant job results more quickly and increasing traffic and job matches for participating job providers,” she mentioned.

“Any job provider – big or small – can take part. No one is included in the Jobs function in Search unless they want to be – and we respect any decision not to participate in these features.”

The EU antitrust watchdog has but to behave on Jobindex’s criticism.

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