Google ordered to disclose advertiser information

Ad copyright complaint

Google has been ordered to disclose the identity of one of its advertisers. The High Court has issued the ruling to assist a potential copyright infringement case.

Google had declined to reveal the identity of the advertiser to Helen Grant, who had complained that a Google advert led to a service which she claimed violated her copyright in a forthcoming book. Google did not give the information, but the firm did advise Grant to seek the High Court order forcing it to comply.

Though the case, heard by Justice Rimer, did not hear why Google refused, Rimer said in his judgment that he assumed that it was because of a perceived duty of confidentiality to advertisers.

Grant is a trustee of a group called the Individuals Self-Discovery Trust, which says that it owns copyright in a forthcoming book, Unlock Reality. The book is due to be released in the US and UK in autumn, said Grant.

Full story: The Register