Authors Guild Wins Round In Class-Action Against Google
In a defeat for Google, a federal judge ruled today that the Authors Guild can continue with its lawsuit accusing the search giant of infringing copyright by digitizing books and displaying snippets of them.
U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin in New York rejected Google's argument that the Authors Guild lacks "standing" to litigate copyright infringement claims on behalf of its members. Google had argued that copyright claims should be decided on a case-by-case basis, in part because fair use requires individualized assessments.
Chin disagreed, saying it would be "unjust" to require authors to go to court individually. "When Google copied works, it did not conduct an inquiry into the copyright ownership of each work; nor did it conduct an individualized evaluation as to whether posting 'snippets' of a particular work would constitute 'fair use,'" Chin wrote in a 32-page ruling. "Google cannot now turn the tables and ask the Court to require each copyright holder to come forward individually."
Chin also proposed resolving fair use questions by looking at different types of books -- fiction, poetry, cookbooks, etc. -- and then evaluating how Google's program affected each category.
Google also argued that the case shouldn't proceed as a class-action because many authors thought the digitization program had helped them. To demonstrate this point, Google said that a survey it commissioned of more than 500 authors showed that 58% approved of the scanning project, and that 19% said they felt they had benefited (or would benefit) financially from Google's display of snippets.
Chin disagreed with Google on that point as well. "Importantly, the survey did not ask the respondents whether they would want to be part of a lawsuit through which they might recover damages," he wrote. "Indeed, it is possible that some authors who 'approve' of Google's actions might still choose to join the class action."
Recent Daily Online Examiner Articles
-
Appeals Court Turns Away Twitter's Challenge To Subpoena May 17, 4:55 p.m.
An appellate court in New York has dismissed Twitter's appeal of a ruling requiring it to ...
-
Apple: No 'Direct Evidence' Of Ebook Price-Fixing May 16, 5:10 p.m.
Did Apple conspire with book publishers to end Amazon's $9.99-per-ebook price? That's the question at the ...
-
AT&T Stirs Controversy With Data-Cap Plans May 15, 5 p.m.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson reportedly confirmed today that the carrier plans to let content companies pay ...
-
Pandora User Seeks To Revive Privacy Lawsuit May 14, 4:48 p.m.
In 2010, music service Pandora was one of the first companies to partner with Facebook for ...
-
New Bill Legalizes Cell-Phone Unlocking, DVD Ripping May 13, 5:05 p.m.
Consumers could once again have the right to unlock their cell phones, if a new law ...
-
Data-Cap Exemption For ESPN Raises Neutrality Concerns May 10, 6:40 p.m.
The sports network ESPN reportedly is talking with a major wireless carrier about a deal to ...
-
Righthaven Loses Bid To Revive Lawsuits May 9, 6:20 p.m.
Several years ago, attorney Steven Gibson and the publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal cooked up ...
-
Appellate Judge Says Google Books Offers 'Enormous' Benefits May 8, 4:59 p.m.
The Authors Guild's odds of winning its long-running lawsuit against Google appear to be dwindling, at ...
-
FTC Tells Data Brokers To Follow Consumer Protection Laws May 7, 6:30 p.m.
In its latest move against data brokers, the Federal Trade Commission has warned 10 companies that ...
-
FTC Rejects Request To Delay New Children's Privacy Rules May 6, 7:43 p.m.
The Federal Trade Commission has unanimously turned down a request by industry groups to push back ...
Be the first to comment on "Authors Guild Wins Round In Class-Action Against Google "
Leave a Comment