Google's DMCA claims against SerpApi were dismissed July 20. Google now has 21 days to amend part of its complaint.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted SerpApi's motion to dismiss Google's two claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The court also stayed discovery until Google files an amended complaint, if any, and any resulting motion to dismiss is resolved.
| Claim type | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Based on Search results that didn't include copyrighted content | Permanently dismissed |
| Involving Search results with copyrighted content | Dismissed, with a chance to revise |
The court said Google had not alleged facts showing that SearchGuard, Google's anti-scraping system, was implemented and functioned "with the authority of the copyright owner."
Google may file an amended complaint within 21 days, provided it doesn't contradict its original allegations.
Information showing whether copyright owners authorized Google to use SearchGuard to protect licensed content should already be within Google's possession, custody, or control, the court said.
SerpApi CEO Julien Khaleghy said the ruling was "a win not just for SerpApi, but for all who depend on an open internet."
SerpApi said the court rejected Google's attempt to expand the DMCA to control access to public pages, and that it would continue supporting developers, AI companies, researchers and businesses that rely on access to public search information.
The court rejected SerpApi's argument that Google lacked standing under the DMCA because Google didn't allege that it owned or exclusively licensed the copyrighted material in search results.
The court also said Google had alleged enough facts to support an inference that SerpApi circumvented SearchGuard.
Many search tools rely on automated access to public search results to monitor rankings, competitors, and AI visibility. This case could still shape how much third-party SERP data those tools can collect.
Check where your rank tracker gets its data. This case reaches the legal footing of SERP data supply. Not knowing your tool's source means not knowing your exposure.
Don't read "dismissed" as "over." Google has 21 days to amend, and the copyright-content portion was not permanently dismissed. The case is live.
Be precise about what was dismissed. The DMCA claims were — not the lawfulness of scraping itself. The court in fact found the inference that SerpApi circumvented SearchGuard sufficiently supported.
Treat it as supply risk for AI visibility tooling. Much AI-visibility measurement rests on the same kind of data — the framework in Do We Show Up in ChatGPT? Four Metrics That Answer 2026's Top Request sits on top of it.
Read it alongside the other fight over search results. The self-preferencing side is in EU Fines Google €890 Million Under the DMA. One contest is about how results are arranged; this one is about who may access them.
On July 20 the Northern District of California granted SerpApi's motion to dismiss Google's two DMCA claims — permanently for the portions based on results without copyrighted content, and with leave to amend for portions involving copyrighted content.
Google had not alleged facts showing that SearchGuard, its anti-scraping system, was implemented and functioned "with the authority of the copyright owner." The court noted such authorization information should already be in Google's possession, custody or control.
No. The court rejected SerpApi's argument that Google lacked standing for not owning or exclusively licensing the material, and found Google had alleged enough facts to support an inference that SerpApi circumvented SearchGuard.
Many search tools rely on automated access to public search results to monitor rankings, competitors and AI visibility, and this case could shape how much third-party SERP data those tools can collect.
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