As a result, authors and publishers sued Google in 2005 for copyright infringement.
By digitally scanning copyrighted books without the permission of rights holders (e.g., publishers or authors), Google ran afoul of the exclusive rights of reproduction, distribution, and public display to which owners of copyright are entitled under the law. Google’s intent was to create a searchable online database of those books. The decision ends years of litigation surrounding Google’s massive book scanning project and creation of an online book database.īeginning in 2004, Google began working with major research libraries to create digital copies of books in their collections. In a key legal victory for Google Inc., a federal appellate court in New York has ruled that the Google Books Library Project is protected by the Fair Use doctrine of Copyright Law.
