On Thursday, Google won a lawsuit when U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin dismissed the case. Google had been sued in 2005 by a group of authors and publishers for scanning, digitizing, and making snippets of text available online through books.google.com. According to Reuters, Judge Chin found that Google’s use of the snippets of text constitutes fair use under U.S. copyright law.
Google’s position, and that of Judge Chin’s, is that the service provided by Google makes it easier for the public to find books without violating authors’ rights. Because only snippets of the books are shown, and those are limited, many of the books in question cannot be seen in their entirety. Google likens their snippet view to a library card catalog, and showing just a few sentences with search terms in context. What it does is provide potential purchasers of books to preview small portions before they make a purchase. It is also a valuable resource for students, or anyone doing research, as searching for a topic can bring up books that might not be found through a library call number system.
This is just another example of copyright law scrambling to keep up with technology. As information is moving from real life to digital copies, copyright laws that were designed to protect paper copies from being made and distributed are unclear when it comes to digitizing content. Similar lawsuits have been filed against libraries that have banded together to create large digital repositories of books.
Books not Involved in the Lawsuit
Not involved in the lawsuit is the digitizing of books that are no longer copyrighted. Google’s work digitizing books has made available thousands of old books that were not widely published, and that would be at risk of being lost if the paper copies were to be damaged. The collection also includes a large number of foreign-language books, and self-published works. Books that are no longer under copyright can be read in their entirety, and even downloaded.
Also not in dispute are books that have been made available through the Partner Program, where authors and publishers allow books to be digitized and can decide how much of the book can be viewed. Many also offer the book in an e-book format that can be purchased through Google.
Authors and Publishers Appeal Judge’s Decision
While an appeal is in the works for the authors and publishers, they are fighting the changing times. Many of Google’s decisions have come under fire, but no one can argue that they are actively changing how the world views information. In the meantime, we can expect more lawsuits as copyright holders and the law scramble to catch up with the digital age, with Google in the lead.
