The publisher of adult web site and magazine Perfect 10 has brought an action against Google, alleging that the search engine breaches copyright and trade mark rules by showing copyrighted photos in the results of its images search.

Perfect 10 also alleges that, if searched, Google provides links to sites revealing passwords to the subscription only site, according to Reuters.

The action was brought after the company had asked Google to rectify the situation on almost 30 occasions.

"They're showing the pictures from my magazine and my web site for free so there's no reason for anyone to buy my products. To add insult to injury, they give away my user names and passwords," Norman Zada, the publisher behind Perfect 10, told Reuters.

The action, which seeks an unspecified amount of damages, follows on from a copyright ruling in 2002 relating to a search engine that provided miniature images in search results, known as thumbnails, and linked to the original image framed within the search engine's own site.

On that occasion the court ruled that thumbnails themselves did not infringe copyright because they amounted to "fair use" of the originals.

According to reports, while Google uses thumbnails in its search results, the complaint alleges that the search shows links to sites that use full size versions of the images – in breach of copyright law.

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