Jobindex vs Google: Danish job-search rival sues tech giant over copyright
text_fields
Mountain View: Alphabet's Google is facing a lawsuit filed by Danish online job-search competitor Jobindex.
Jobindex last year filed a complaint to EU antitrust regulators about alleged unfair practices by the tech giant in promoting its own job-search service. The Danish Media Association, acting on behalf of Jobindex, has initiated legal proceedings against Google in a Danish court, citing copyright violations, reported Reuters.
Jobindex's primary allegation revolves around Google allegedly copying job advertisements without obtaining permission and subsequently featuring them on its platform. As a remedy, Jobindex is seeking compensation and damages for these copyright infringements.
The lawsuit is significant as it marks the first legal action in Danish courts under the new EU copyright regulations implemented in 2021, addressing the liability of online platforms for content uploaded to their services.
Kaare Danielsen, the CEO of Jobindex, emphasised the importance of fair competition, stating, "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."
Mads Brandstrup, CEO of the Danish Media Association, called upon Danish authorities to enforce copyright rules against major tech companies.
Google responded to the allegations, stating that Jobindex had not utilised Google's tools for reporting copyright-infringing content. A spokesperson for Google explained the purpose of the "Jobs" function in Google Search, highlighting its goal of simplifying the job search process and offering relevant results quickly, which benefits both users and job providers.
The European watchdog has yet to take any action in response.
