Author’s Guild Appeals Google Books Copyright Decision

By Dianna Dilworth 

authors_guildThe Author’s Guild is appealing the decision that allows Google to scan the books of copyrighted materials without getting permission from the copyright holders under the terms of fair use.

The organization told Publisher’s Weekly:

Authors Guild executive director Paul Aiken told PW that Chin’s decision represented “a fundamental challenge to copyright that merits review by a higher court.” Aiken claims that Google’s unauthorized mass digitization and exploitation far exceeds the bounds of the fair use defense.”

In November, US Circuit Judge Denny Chin ruled in favor of Google after an eight year court battle. According to the decision, Google’s massive book scanning project, in which the online giant scanned millions of books and made them available through search without obtaining the permission of the copyright holders, is legal.