A man who claims to be defamed by Google has now been given the green light to sue the search engine by the High Court.

Milorad Trkulja was shot in the back by an unknown gunman in Melbourne in 2004, at the time of a series of underworld killings.

He wants to sue Google for defamation after discovering that searches for his name brought up images of mob figures due to the shooting coinciding with gangland activity in the city.

The images wrongly linked Mr Trkulja with crime bosses including Tony Mokbel.

Mr Trkulja's efforts to sue Google had been blocked by a Victorian Court of Appeal decision, but today the High Court ruled in his favour

Case could clear up murky defamation laws, expert says

Legal expert Nicolas Suzor said the decision was exciting, as it might provide clarity on unanswered questions around how defamation laws are applied online.

"At the moment, defamation law — it's a bit of a mess," the Queensland University of Technology associate professor said.

    "It's not exactly clear at the moment when an internet publisher will be responsible for removing content that could be defamatory."

He said if the case was to go to trial in the Victorian Supreme Court, the legal system, individuals and internet giants like Google may all get some answers.

"The fact that the High Court has taken an interest here doesn't necessarily mean that Google is going to lose when the full trial goes through," he said.

"What it means is that the High Court is interested enough in this problem to consider it.

"And that's a positive sign because of how difficult and complex defamation law has become in Australia."