Google, German publishers' battle over content continues

German publishers and Google have failed to resolve a row over whether or not the web search leader should pay the publishers to display their articles online, raising the prospect of a lengthy court battle. Over the past decade, the media industry has often accused Google of making money at its expense by making its content freely available via Google News, YouTube and other services to drive audiences to view ads on Google sites instead. Google counters that the publishers already profit from advertising revenue generated through its sites.
"Altogether, we pass on 500 million clicks a month to German publishers' pages alone," Google's central Europe chief, Philipp Justus, said on Monday in Berlin.