MESSAGE
| DATE | 2013-11-15 |
| FROM | Ruben
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] the right to scan books upheld
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24939689
In 2005, the US Authors Guild sued Google alleging that its plans to
create a digital library amounted to massive copyright infringement.
In its defence, Google said its plans constituted "fair use" because it
was only putting excerpts of texts online.
US judge Denny Chin has now sided with Google and dismissed the case
brought by the Guild.
Long fight
Judge Chin accepted Google's argument that its scanning project was
"fair use" adding that the project provides "significant public benefits".
The decision could be a significant milestone for the long-running legal
battle between Google, the Authors Guild and US publishers. Both the
publishers and authors started legal action over the scanning project in
2005.
Initially, authors and publishers negotiated with Google together. This
led to a settlement agreement in 2008 that would have involved Google
paying $125m (?78m) into a fund that would be used to compensate the
writers of copyrighted works that appeared in the online library. The
agreement also placed restrictions on how much of a book Google could
make searchable.
In March 2011, the settlement agreement was thrown out by a US court
which said it gave Google a "de facto monopoly" to copy books.
This led US publishers to negotiate separately and they reached an
agreement with Google in October 2012. Financial terms of that deal have
not been released.
The latest decision denies the copyright claim brought by US authors.
Neither Google nor the Authors Guild have commented on the decision.
In April 2013, Google said it had scanned more than 30 million works
ready for inclusion in its digital library.
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