Fair Use

On July 27, Google Inc. asked U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin to dismiss a lawsuit from the Authors Guild over the company’s plan to digitize books and provide excerpts through their search engine service. Google filed a motion seeking dismissal and arguing their actions fall under fair use and also provide a benefit to the public and the authors themselves. The Authors Guild also filed for summary judgment. Both parties’ motions are set for oral argument on Oct. 9. The case has been ongoing since The Authors Guild, along with The American Society of Media Photographers and other parties, sued Google in 2005 claiming the company’s plan to create an online literary database was carried out without permission from copyright holders. Google estimated it has already scanned more than 20 million books and posted excerpts from over 4 million. The process began when Google entered agreements with public and university libraries to digitize and upload information for their Google Books service. So far, Google says works have been scanned from Harvard University, Oxford University, Stanford University, the University of California, the University of Michigan, and the New York Public Library. Judge Denny Chin began hearing the case as a trial judge and has retained jurisdiction after being elevated to...