NEW YORK 

A U.S. court's order that Google remove an Islamophobic video from its YouTube site was an infringement of the First Amendment rights of free speech, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.

An 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the video sharing website cannot be forced to remove Innocence of Muslims – a controversial short film in which Prophet Muhammad is depicted as a child molester, homosexual and womanizer.

The 13-minute video incited protests in several Muslim-majority countries when it was released in 2012.

Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who claims she was tricked into appearing in the film, filed a lawsuit against the company, arguing that she had a copyright claim.

Her lawyer said she was cast in a minor role in a film supposedly entitled Desert Warrior and was told the film was a desert adventure story.

A three-judge panel of the San Francisco court sided with the plaintiff last February and ordered Google to remove the clip.

But Monday’s ruling said, "a heartfelt plea for personal protection is juxtaposed with the limits of copyright law and fundamental principles of free speech".

The panel "dissolved the three-judge panel’s amended takedown injunction against the posting or display of any version of Innocence of Muslims that included Garcia’s performance", it said.

"The en banc court held that the injunction was unwarranted and incorrect as a matter of law and was a prior restraint that infringed the First Amendment values at stake", it added.

Google argued that since Garcia appears for only five seconds in the film, her copyright case should be against the directors who fooled her, not YouTube.

Many Web companies such as Facebook and Netflix also expressed worry that if Garcia successfully sued Google, it would open the door to a slew of litigation for content providers.

"Garcia failed to make a clear showing of irreparable harm to her interests as an author", the panel said.

In the production process of the film, Garcia’s original lines were overdubbed with inflammatory statements, including "Is your Muhammad a child molester?"

The film caused unrest in countries including Egypt and Libya and was reportedly used as a rallying cry for the Sept. 11, 2012, protests against the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that caused the death of four Americans, including ambassador Christopher Stevens. 

Those involved with the film were victims of death threats. An Egyptian cleric issued a fatwa, or legal ruling, following the film’s release calling for the murder of everyone involved, according to the opinion by the three-judge panel that issued the initial ruling.