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What role do search engines play in policing unauthorized commercial use of intellectual property?

Piper Risebarer

Search engines play a crucial role in policing unauthorized commercial use of intellectual property. The internet, as a platform, has evolved significantly over the past few decades, and with it, the potential for copyright and intellectual property infringement has grown exponentially. As search engines are the primary gatekeepers of online information, it is essential that they take measures to protect copyrighted material.

Admittedly, search engines do not possess the legal mandate to police copyrighted material; however, they have the power to promote responsible online behavior and punish illicit behavior. Firstly, search engines are crucial in alerting intellectual property owners to the use of their copyrighted material. Search engines are the primary means through which individuals access copyrighted material. Therefore, if copyright owners are not alerted to its use, it can be incredibly difficult to monitor intellectual property infringement.

Search engines act as a neutral third-party platform that provides access to information that has the potential to be copyrighted. Search engines are aware of the fact that their platform contributes to intellectual property infringement, and they aim to prevent copyright infringement. They do this by providing access to dispute settlement procedures and removing copyrighted material upon notification of a violation.

Two primary strategies that search engines can utilize to protect intellectual property are preventative and reactive. Prevention strategies involve creating filters that identify copyrighted material that is being unlawfully shared on the internet. When a filter identifies a copyrighted work being shared unlawfully, search engines can direct users unable to share the offending material. These filters are critical as they minimize the number of works a user can infringe upon.

Reactive strategies respond to breaches of copyright after they have occurred. These include providing facilities to intellectual property owners to raise and report infringements, providing facilities for rights holders to remove content, and imposing penalties for breaches of copyright. Search engines have the power to enforce penalties such as blacklisting, which can remove the linked content from the search engine results entirely.

Moreover, search engines can also leverage their artificial intelligence technologies such as natural language processing and machine learning to filter intellectual property violations from both their text and image search results. This natural language processing capability can identify copyrighted materials that are currently being shared and remove this content from the search engine results.

Search engines play a vital role in providing users with relevant and reliable information. Regulatory authorities need to enforce copyright laws. Still, search engines have the unique ability to detect infringement and flag down copyright holders of any infringement. By taking an active role in policing intellectual property infringement and promoting responsible online behavior, search engines can help to minimize the violations of copyright laws.