• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, February 12, 2007

Google again has found itself in an awkward situation stemming from copyright infringement but, this time, the allegations aren't related to video-sharing site YouTube.

Rather, Google apparently sold pay-per-click ads to other Web companies that are accused of inducing consumers to download copyrighted films, according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal. And, beyond just selling keywords through the usual automated AdWords platform, Google seems to have sent its sales force out to personally help the companies.

The revelations came to light in a lawsuit brought by a group of media companies against two men, Brandon Drury and Luke Sample, accusing them of operating sites that searched peer-to-peer networks offering pirated movies. The men reportedly denied any wrongdoing.

Google's sales force allegedly assisted the men by suggesting that they purchase keywords such as "bootleg movie download," "pirated," and "download harry potter movie," according to the Journal. Drury and Sample's sites allegedly paid Google $809,000 in ad fees, while garnering $1.1 million in revenue, according to the Journal.

The Journal reported that Google executives last week held a conference call with studio executives and promised to take steps to prevent other companies from using AdWords to drive traffic to sites selling pirated videos.

While Google isn't a defendant in the case -- and media companies likely would have a hard time proving that selling AdWords induces copyright infringement -- the company certainly doesn't come off well, at least in the eyes of the media companies that Google hopes to forge deals with.