From Bloomberg: Google Inc. (won a bid to delay a copyright lawsuit by the Authors Guild of America over the company’s plans to digitally scan millions of books while it appeals a decision that allows the plaintiffs to sue as a class. U.S. Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan [...]
GBS: Google Wins Stay From U.S. Appeals Court on E-Books Case
Google Allowed to Appeal Class Action Status of Authors Guild Case
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will allow Google to appeal the class action status of the seven-year old Google Inc. v. Authors Guild case, the court announced in an order this morning. Decertifying the case would force Author’s Guild members who dispute the digitization of their works to sue Google individually. Google has argued that many authors have benefited economically from its Google Books project, and whether a scan violated copyright or was protected under fair use doctrine should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Google Appeals Class Action Certification
Google appealed Judge Denny Chin’s order granting the Authors Guild class certification in the ongoing litigation between the two over whether Google Books is fair use. In its filing, Google again raised the issue of “whether class plaintiffs seeking to stop alleged copyright infringement can adequately represent class members who benefit from the defendant’s conduct [...]
Authors Guild vs. Google Books Now a Class Action Lawsuit
The Authors Guild’s case against Google Books is now a class action suit, as of May 31. Judge Denny Chin did not find Google’s survey showing that many authors have different views of the damage done them, if any, by Google Books, reason enough not to certify the class. “That some class members may prefer [...]
Google, Author’s Guild Clash Over Class Action and Standing
Judge Chin heard oral argument in the Google Books case on May 4 and ultimately reserved decision. The parties will go ahead with their summary judgment motions, with oral argument scheduled for September. According to New York Law School professor James Grimmelmann’s Labortorium blog, Google argued that individual authors, not the Author’s Guild, should be [...]
Author’s Guild Seeks Partial Judgment on Hathi Trust’s Fair Use
In the ongoing litigation between the Hathi Trust and the Author’s Guild over the Trust’s book digitization in partnership with Google, the Guild filed for partial judgment on the pleadings on February 28. In essence, the Guild claimed that the more than 60 libraries and institutions in the trust are infringing on copyright because their book digitization activities “are wildly exceeding” those defined in section 108 of the 1976 Copyright Act.















