Search Engines Score Another Perfect 10: The Continued Misuse of Copyrighted Images on the Internet

In Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp., the Ninth Circuit held that search engines’ reproduction of images for use as thumbnails is a fair use under the Copyright Act. This Recent Development critiques the Ninth Circuit’s analysis in determining whether a search engine infringed on a copyright holder’s rights. The author proposes that this ruling broadened the scope of fair use on the Internet. As a result, Kelly does not fulfill copyright law’s goal of providing a balance between the rights of the copyright holder and the rights of the general public. However, a recent ruling against the search engine Google may be one of the first steps toward curtailing search engines’ power.