Reddit Keeps DMCA Fight Alive Over Google Search Results

A US District Judge has denied, in part, a motion to dismiss from web scraper SerpApi, which is accused of conspiring with Perplexity AI to illegally scrape copyrighted Reddit content. The decision came on Friday and marks the latest development in a complex case that involves Google search results and copyright law.

The judge’s opinion suggests that at this early stage, Reddit has made a plausible argument that there was indeed a conspiracy between SerpApi and Perplexity AI. According to the ruling, SerpApi provided a product designed to circumvent Google access controls, while Perplexity AI paid for it.

This decision is significant because it shows that Reddit’s claims have some merit, even if they are still in their early stages. The company will now need to prove three key points: first, that SerpApi and Perplexity AI conspired to access copyrighted content; second, that this content was protected by a technological measure controlling access; and third, that the defendants circumvented that technology.

Interestingly, Google had previously faced a similar lawsuit from Reddit, which also involved allegations of copyright infringement. However, in that case, the court dismissed the action because it found that Google had not proven that rights holders like Reddit had authorized the search engine to prevent scraping of protected content.

The outcome is likely to be disappointing for web scrapers like SerpApi, who claim that both Google and Reddit are trying to ‘use the DMCA to wall off the open Internet by retroactively claiming control over content they didn’t author and don’t own.’

Google has stated its intention to amend its complaint in response to this decision. Meanwhile, SerpApi remains committed to defending itself against these allegations.