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September 06, 2005

Would Google Print win in court?

One of the most controversial points of the Google digitization project is whether or not Google's argument for fair use would/should prevail if it became a matter for the courts to decide.

Some publishing associations say, "No."

Derek Slater, of A Copyfighter's Musings, says the answer should be, "Yes."

Siva Vaidhyanathan, a media scholar and copyright pundit, also says, "No."

Laura Quiler, a librarian/lawyer/blogger, says, "Yes."

Now, a number of legal experts who specialize in copyright issues for digital media are saying "Yes," according to an article in InternetWeek.

Despite objections from publishers and writers, copyright law appears to be on Google's side, legal experts say. The social value of Google's initiative to digitize library books, including those protected by copyright, will likely weigh heavily in the search engine's favor.

...

Although Google may appear to violate the law by scanning, without permission, entire copies of books protected by copyright, such an act is not illegal if it is considered “fair use” of the material. How a court interprets that doctrine will decide the fate of the company’s ambitious plans, according to lawyers and law professors with knowledge of intellectual property and copyright statues. They say the most important issues for a court would be the character of Google’s activity, its adverse economic impact on the copyright holder, and the amount of material it uses in proportion to the whole and if that is key to the work. Of lesser concern is whether the company makes a reasonable effort to contact copyright holders before copying their books.

“Google would probably win” a court case, says William Fisher, who teaches intellectual property law at Harvard Law School and is the director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. “Google is a profit-making venture, that counts against it, but what it is doing is a highly socially valuable activity and that counts highly in its favor.”

Posted by misseli at September 6, 2005 12:42 PM