[mytherin]

It isn't, but it is Google's responsibility not to infringe on the copyright of other people/companies. Google is not displaying their own content in those snippets. They are taking content from other websites, reformatting it and putting it on their own website. By stealing that content and displaying it to the user, the user now no longer needs to visit the website from which the content originated. They are directly taking away potential customers/revenue from these companies. It seems pretty clear that that's not entirely kosher.

[Animats]

Facts aren't copyrightable in the US. See Feist vs. Rural Telephone. If it's a pure fact and exposed to public view, Google can take the data and repurpose it.

[tyingq]

Reading the below with that context is amusing.

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2721312?hl=en