Google Case Law

["Hamaker, Chuck" <cahamake@email.uncc.edu>]

http://www.internetweek.com/170700329
    
September 02, 2005 

Courts Unlikely To Stop Google Book Copying 

By Christopher T. Heun  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.  ... A
potential legal battle is slowly gathering strength. The Text and Academic
Authors Association this week joined the Association of Learned and
Professional Society Publishers in publicly stating it is ready to take on
Google in the courtroom.

...there is a clear legal precedent for any potential court battle between
publishers and Google, and it favors the Mountain View, Calif., company.
In Kelly v. Arriba Soft Corp., a 2003 case in which a photographer sued a
search engine, claiming copyright infringement for displaying thumbnail
images of work originally posted on his site, the Ninth Circuit found in
favor of the search engine: the act of copying the material, even though
it was for commercial purposes, was not exploitative and therefore was
fair use.

....

In the end, winning a fair use argument against Google could be tough,
since its entire business model revolves around the principle. "Google
couldn't exist at all without making copies," Litman says. "It's a search
engine. It makes copies in order to index content."

See link for rest of article. 

Chuck Hamaker
UNC Charlotte