In Europe, Google's News Snippets May Get More Expensive

The future prosperity of Google and other online aggregators in Europe might depend on how German courts define snippets, the one or two sentences taken from websites and displayed alongside links to the source material. A landmark copyright bill that would allow publishers to charge for such online uses of their material is working its way through Germany’s legislature and being closely watched by neighboring countries. Although it’s been watered down during its legislative journey, the bill may still leave room for a judge to side with publishers and allow them to charge for significant use of news articles, including in search.

The legislation, part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition platform, pits Google against media conglomerates, including Axel Springer, publisher of Die Welt and Bild, and Hubert Burda Media, which specializes in fashion and lifestyle magazines. It’s seen by both Google and European media companies as a vital front in the search giant’s battle with European newspapers. The bill could allow publishers to form a royalty collection group for newspaper snippets—imagine the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers, but for journalism—and gain leverage with Google, which has more than 85 percent of the search market in Germany, according to most estimates.