QUESTION: A public librarian asks for clarification about the latest in the Authors Guild v. Google case. ANSWER: In April the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case. So, Google, the "case that will not die" has finally met its end. Initiated in 2005, the case has continued with multiple decisions and appeals. (For a brief history of the case, consult Wikipedia). In November 2013, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the Authors Guild's challenge to Google's use of copyrighted works finding that such use was fair use. On remand, Judge Denny Chin said of the Google Books Project that it: (1) provides significant benefits to the public; (2) advances the progress of the arts and sciences; (3) maintains respectful consideration for the rights of authors and other copyright owners; and (4) does not adversely impact the rights of copyright holders. The Second Circuit unanimously affirmed this judgment in December 2014 following an appeal by the Authors Guild. The court found that: (l)the digitization of copyrighted works, the search functionality and the display of snippets only is transformative; (2) such activity does not provide a market substitute for the original; (3) the for-profit nature of Google's business does not negate fair use; and (4) Google's provision of digitized infringement to the libraries that provided the books is not infringement because it is done so with the understanding that the libraries will use the copies in a manner consistent with the copyright law.
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