Google v. SerpApi Dismissed: Is Scraping Search Results Legal?

Short answer: A federal judge dismissed Google's DMCA anti-circumvention claims against SerpApi in July 2026, so Google could not use copyright law to stop a company from collecting public search results. That is not a blanket green light: the ruling is narrow, Google filed an amended complaint in August, and other claims and cases are still open. If you scrape or track search data, the practical move is to stay on public data, keep your own risk low, and know which data you can get without touching Google's results page at all.

What did the court actually decide in Google v. SerpApi?

According to reports from MediaPost, Android Headlines and Gigazine, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California dismissed Google's complaint around 20 July 2026 (case no. 4:25-cv-10826-YGR). Google had argued that SerpApi got around its SearchGuard anti-bot system, which Google launched in January 2025, and that doing so violated the DMCA's anti-circumvention rules.

Outlets describe the reasoning differently. Some say the court held that Google cannot use copyright law to block the collection of search result data that is not its copyrighted work. Bloomberg Law frames the dismissal around Google failing to show it had the proper authority to bring the claim. We have not read the opinion itself, so check the docket (CourtListener or your lawyer) before relying on any detail here.

Is scraping Google legal now?

Not in the sense of "yes, always". Commentary collected by Parallel and others stresses that the ruling concerned the DMCA claim, not a declaration that every form of scraping is lawful. Three things remain open:

• The case is not fully closed. Reports say Google filed an amended complaint on 10 August 2026.
• Other plaintiffs. A separate Reddit v. SerpApi case is reported as pending in the Southern District of New York.
• Contract and terms of service. A DMCA dismissal says nothing about a site's terms, which are a separate legal question.

One analysis suggests a customer who sends the queries could be named alongside the vendor, at least at the pleading stage. That is a reason to understand what your tools do, not a reason to panic. This post is general information, not legal advice.

What does it mean for rank trackers and SEO tools?

SERP data was already getting harder to collect. Google quietly disabled the &num=100 parameter in September 2025, which used to return 100 results in one request. Per Brightvessel and Reflect Digital, tools now need roughly ten requests to see ten pages, and some vendors, such as AccuRanker, moved their default depth to the first two pages.

Search Console numbers also shifted after the parameter change, so impression and position comparisons across that date are not like for like.

What should you do if you collect search or competitor data?

1. Collect public data only. No logins, no private accounts, no personal data you have no basis to hold.
2. Prefer sources that do not fight you. Official APIs, public listing pages and Maps data are lower friction than a results page protected by an anti-bot system. Our guide to scraping sites that block bots covers the technical side.
3. Read the terms for each source and decide, with advice if the stakes are high, whether you accept the contract risk.
4. Do not build a single point of failure on one results page. A format or policy change can break it overnight, as num=100 showed.
5. Keep records of what you collect, why, and how often.

Which visibility questions can you answer without scraping Google results?

A lot of "rank tracking" is really two other questions: where do I show up locally, and does AI search recommend me? Both have dedicated tools.

For local visibility, the Google Maps Geo-Grid Local Rank Tracker checks a business's Google Maps local-pack rank at each point of a grid around it. It returns per-point and average rank, coverage, Share of Local Voice, top competitors and an HTML heatmap, and needs no Google API key.

For AI search, the AI Brand Visibility Tracker asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Grok your buyers' questions and records whether your brand is mentioned, at what position, with what sentiment, and which sources are cited. It runs without an OpenAI or Anthropic key. We covered why this matters in Is ChatGPT recommending your competitors?.

If your real goal is competitor pricing rather than rankings, see how to track competitor prices automatically. More tools in this area are in the SEO and AI visibility hub.

Frequently asked questions

Try it yourself

Want local rank or AI visibility data without maintaining your own scraper? Try the actors on Apify; new accounts get free credit to test with.

Last updated: November 2026