Product Descriptions Are Also Copyright Protected

The Bat Yam Magistrate’s Court recently deliberated on the question of whether a product description is protected by copyright. The court ruled that a marketing text constitutes a copyrighted work, even if it includes a technical description of a product.

The plaintiff in the case, who works in the development and promotion of websites, claimed other websites were using content copied from its website.

Regarding the question of if said content has copyright protection, the court ruled that the marketing content in question includes more than just a technical description of the product’s details. The content also incorporates phrases with adjectives designed to attract potential buyers and promote the site in Google search results, as well as certain icons next to the product description. All of these constitute copyrighted works.

The defendant’s website contained identical content that appeared as if it had been copied from the plaintiff’s website, including adjectives, linking words, and icons.

Accordingly, the court held the defendant had infringed the plaintiff’s copyright.