Google News, the automated news aggregation service that should have human editors worried, is being sued by Agence France Presse, and the fallout could impact throughout cyberspace.

An excerpt from the AP story on CTV.ca:

In a case that could set limits on Internet search engines, the French news agency AFP is suing Google Inc. for pulling together photos and story excerpts from thousands of news Web sites.

Agence France-Presse said the "Google News" service infringes on AFP's copyrights by reproducing information from the Web sites of subscribers of the Paris-based news wholesaler.

The issues raised by the case have profound implications for the Internet, where anyone can be a publisher and Web journals, or blogs, are becoming more frequent destinations for seekers of news.

The lawsuit's outcome will likely hinge on whether Google can persuade the courts that Google News constitutes permissible "fair use" of copyright material. Legal scholars say Google could argue that it adds value by significantly improving the news-consuming experience without greatly harming AFP's ability to sell its service.

But in seeking at least $17.5 million in damages, AFP says Google adds little because its news site looks much like those of AFP subscribers, albeit one where software and not human editors determine the placement of stories on a page.

According to this Online Journalism Review blog posting, Google has dropped AFP as a content provider and is trying to figure out how to remove existing content.