Google Argues for Dismissal of Book Scan Class Action Lawsuit
By Matt O’Donnell
Google continues its courtroom battle to nix the Google book scan class action lawsuit filed by the Authors Guild, arguing in new papers filed late Friday that the case is not appropriate.
The Authors Guild won class certification of the case this summer, but Google contends that the “clash of interests” between the Authors Guild and individual writers should prohibit a class action.
This is the same argument Google has been making for months, which is that individual authors may feel differently than the Authors Guild about their books being scanned because many writers “benefit [from it] and want to see it continue, because it makes their books more widely known and accessible.”
Google even commissioned a survey, which it used as evidence in a February 2012 appeal, of more than 800 authors about their opinions regarding the project. According to the survey, 58% said they approved of Google scanning their books, while only 14% objected and 8% said they would be harmed. Nearly two-thirds, or 74%, said they didn’t believe the project would affect them financially.
The legal dispute dates back to 2005 when the Authors Guild sued Google for copyright infringement for scanning nearly 20 million books from libraries and displaying snippets of some of them in its search engine. Google has maintained it didn’t need permission to copy the works or to provide brief snippets because these snippets are covered by “fair use” provisions of copyright law, which covers certain purposes such as research, teaching, news reporting and commentary.
Google recently settled a separate class action lawsuit filed by book publishers over the same practice. [See “Google, Publishers Book Scan Settlement.”]
Top Class Actions will continue to provide details of the Authors Guild/Google legal battle as it unfolds.
The Authors Guild Google Book Scan Class Action Lawsuit case is Authors Guild v. Google, Case No. 05-08136, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Manhattan.
Updated November 15th, 2012
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