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Judge Dismisses Google Street View Case
angry tapir writes "A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Pennsylvania family against Google after the company took and posted images of the outside of their house in its Maps service. The lawsuit, filed in April 2008, drew attention because it sought to challenge Google's right to take street-level photos for its Maps' Street View feature. Judge Amy Reynolds Hay from the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania granted Google's request for dismissing the lawsuit because 'the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim under any count.'"
If you drew up original house plans and had your house built to specification, could you make a copyright claim about photos of your house under U.S. Copyright law, as a "3-D work of art"?
Better yet, if you took photos of your house and made a deposit of those photos together with the blueprints, would the Library of Congress accept the copyright registration (for statutory damages)?
Just thinking this couple didn't think creatively enough here for the proper law that could be used for a suit.
Heck, patent the driveway of your home (this was about Google using a private road to get a view of their house) and get a lawsuit on Google for patent infringement for duplicating the "aesthetics" of the driveway design into Google Earth, including form and function.