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Microsoft bins Bing image widget after Getty sueball

Embed codes for offending collages still seem to do the business

Microsoft has taken down the Bing images widget that so offended Getty Images that it flung a sueball in Redmond's direction last week.

As Getty's complaint (reg-and-paywalled) states, “The Bing Image Widget allows website publishers to embed a panel on their websites that will display digital images supplied by Defendant through its proprietary 'Bing Image Search' search engine, based on search queries of the website publisher's choosing.”

That's a problem because the results of such searches “typically consist of copyrighted images, including images whose copyrights are owned or controlled by Plaintiff” (Getty).

Reports from US media suggest Microsoft pulled the widget so it can assess Getty's complaint, perhaps in an act of good faith.

Microsoft's public response can be seen below.

Bingo!

Bingo! Or at least Bing Image Widget gone.

Yet the Widget still seems to work, as the collage we created in our first story on this topic still offers the chance to embed it elsewhere.

There's no sign in the court filings that this will wrap up in a hurry, but Microsoft's decision to pull the widget does at least look like Redmond is willing to take Getty's complaint seriously. ®

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