Belgium ? Google Inc. lost a copyright lawsuit Tuesday to Belgian newspapers that had demanded it remove headlines and links to articles posted on its news site without their permission.

The ruling, if it stands on appeal, could set a precedent for how Web search engines link to copyrighted material in the tumultuous arena of online news, according to the Belgian copyright group that launched the case.

Google said it would appeal, claiming its Google News service was “entirely legal” and the Belgian ruling did not set any precedent.

The Brussels Court of First Instance ruled that Mountain View, Calif.-based Google could not rely on exemptions, such as claiming “fair use,” because it says it reviews press articles when it displays headlines, a few lines of text, photos and links to the original page.