Court Rejects Google’s DMCA Case Against SerpApi

A federal judge has dismissed Google’s DMCA lawsuit against SerpApi, ruling that blocking automated access to public search results does not constitute copyright circumvention when those results contain no copyrighted material.

Google filed the lawsuit in December, accusing SerpApi of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by bypassing SearchGuard, its anti-scraping technology, to collect and resell search results. SerpApi responded with a motion to dismiss in February. Chief U. S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted that motion, tossing out both of Google’s anti-circumvention claims.

The Court’s Rationale

The central question was whether SearchGuard protects a copyrighted work. Google’s search results are largely composed of public information, though they sometimes include a Knowledge Panel that may feature licensed images.

For results without copyrighted content, the court ruled that SearchGuard cannot regulate access because no protected work exists. These claims were dismissed with prejudice, meaning Google cannot refile them.

For results containing licensed images, Google failed to prove it used SearchGuard with the copyright owners’ authorization, as the law requires. The court dismissed those claims without prejudice, allowing Google to amend and try again.

The judge also rejected SerpApi’s argument that Google lacked standing to sue. SerpApi contended that the DMCA protects only copyright owners, and since Google does not own its search results, it could not bring the case. The court disagreed, noting that the law’s protections are not exclusive to copyright holders.

SerpApi’s Response

SerpApi CEO Julien Khaleghy called the ruling a victory for open access to public data and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to developers and businesses that depend on public search information:

“We’re pleased that the court rejected Google’s attempts to expand the DMCA to assert control over access to public pages. The internet’s founding principle – open access to usable information – is essential to driving innovation and ensuring everyone benefits from the promise of data. SerpApi will continue supporting developers, AI companies, researchers, and businesses that rely on access to public search information.”

Google has not commented on the ruling as of publication.

What This Ruling Means

The decision clarifies that scraping public search results without copyrighted content does not violate the DMCA in this context, and Google can no longer pursue that argument.

Scraping plain search results is safer than extracting copyrighted extras, such as images from Knowledge Panels. This ruling limits Google’s ability to use the DMCA against SERP scraping, though it does not end the case entirely.

Next Steps

Google has 21 days to amend its complaint. To keep the copyright claims alive, it must present facts the court previously found missing, starting with proof that copyright owners authorized the use of SearchGuard.

The judge has paused discovery until Google files its amendment and the court rules on any subsequent motion.

Separately, SerpApi faces a DMCA lawsuit from Reddit that raises similar questions about scraping publicly viewable pages. This ruling addresses only part of that broader issue.