Federal Judge Rules Google Book-Scanning Project "Fair Use" | MLibrary

"A federal judge on Thursday ruled that Google’s use of copyrighted works in its library books digitization project is 'fair use' under copyright laws and therefore does not infringe on authors. Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit described libraries’ uses of their Google-digitized copies as 'lawful' and 'transformative.' In 2004, U-M was the first library to sign a book scanning agreement with Google. In a statement, the Authors Guild said it would appeal the decision. James Hilton, university librarian and dean of libraries, and Paul Courant, who stepped down from that role in September, applauded the decision. The two worked together closely in the early days of the partnership with Google when Hilton was U-M’s interim university librarian, and Courant as provost. 'The judge’s decision affirms what we have always believed about the transformative benefits of library digitization to both the public at large and to research and scholarship,' Courant says. Courant and Hilton credit the university’s steadfast support for the endeavor, and Hilton points to Chin’s finding that Google Books also benefits copyright holders by enhancing sales. 'There is much more common ground than difference between libraries and authors,' Hilton says ..."