Google Fined Over Copyright Violations
Since 2004, Google has been scanning in millions of books and making them available to the public. Google says, “The Library Project’s aim is simple: make it easier for people to find relevant books – specifically, books they wouldn’t find any other way such as those that are out of print – while carefully respecting authors’ and publishers’ copyrights. Our ultimate goal is to work with publishers and libraries to create a comprehensive, searchable, virtual card catalog of all books in all languages that helps users discover new books and publishers discover new readers.”
A French court has fined Google 300,000 Euro and 10,000 Euro / day while Google is in violation. Google attorney, Alexandra Neri, said the company would appeal.
“It shows Google that they are not the kings of the world and they can’t do whatever they want,” said Serge Eyrolles, president of France’s Syndicat National de l’Edition.
Philippe Colombet, the head of Google’s book-scanning project in France, said the company disagrees. “French readers now face the threat of losing access to a significant body of knowledge and falling behind the rest of Internet users,” Colombet said. “We believe that displaying a limited number of short extracts from books complies with copyright legislation both in France and the U.S. — and improves access to books.”
U.S. and German courts are also trying to determine how the Internet is affecting intellectual property rights.