Google won. Publishers won. No one won.
Google won't have to pay German news publishers to show short snippets of news, thanks to Chancellor Angela Merkel's parliamentary coalition. But the law doesn't specify how long those snippets can be. And the publishers association is also claiming victory, saying that the new legislation allows them to decide how Google -- and others -- can use their content.
Perhaps, if copyright were limited to a reasonable period of time, say the lifetime of the creator, rather than the lifetime of the corporate entity that was spawned by the extended life of copyright protections, this wouldn't be a debate. But since that isn't going to happen...let's hear it for muddying the copyright waters even more!
