Google and German publishers have failed to reach an agreement regarding whether the search giant should pay publishers for content shown online, meaning that a court case could be on the horizon.
German publishers argue that Google should pay them for displaying their content, saying that Google is taking advertising revenue from them by making their content freely available on sites such as Google News and YouTube.
Various publishers, including the German newspaper giant Axel Springer, have said they will take Google to court over the disagreement, claiming that ancillary copyright laws have been broken.
Google denies any wrongdoing, with a spokesperson claiming that they “pass on 500 million clicks a month to German publishers' pages alone”.
This is not the first time Google has found itself in trouble in Europe. It is currently under investigation by the European Commission for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive behaviours.
