Microsoft was slapped with a high-profile lawsuit this week after Getty Images, one of the world's largest stock photo agencies, took issue with the Bing Image Widget's alleged copyright infringement. As a result of the lawsuit, or perhaps in preparation for court proceedings, Microsoft has bit the bullet and removed the beta version of their Bing Image Widget for all users.
According to an unnamed spokesperson from Microsoft, the company has removed its Bing Image Widget so they can "take time to talk with Getty Images and better understand its concerns."
Bing Image Widget was created as an embeddable media tool which helped site owners put digital images, supplied by Bing, on their website. Getty called the widget a "massive infringement" of copyright in the filing, and it seems as if Microsoft is taking their claims seriously -- at the very least, they acknowledge the lawsuit and note that they place a great emphasis on the importance of copyright law.
The compliance with Getty's request to remove Bing Image Widget is the first step in Microsoft's response to the lawsuit, which will hopefully be settled out of court between the two media empires.
Source: Bing via Recode | Image via Brian Turner / Flickr
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