Google Points Out That What The Authors Guild Wants And What Authors Want Are Two Very Different Things
from the seems-relevant dept
As the still ongoing legal feud between Google and the Authors Guild has continued, Google is trying a new tactic: accurately asking the court why the Authors Guild should be appointed as the representative of all authors? Google pointed out that the Authors Guild -- somewhat notorious for its luddite view of the world -- is trying to turn the lawsuit into a class action, but that most authors don't mind Google scanning their books and making it easier for people to find them:To prove this point, Google commissioned a survey of more than 800 authors about their opinions regarding the project. The majority of respondents, 58%, said they approved of Google scanning their books, while 28% were neutral and 14% objected. Almost three out of four respondents, 74%, said they don't believe that Google's scans would affect them financially, while 19% say they have or would benefit and 8% said they have or would be harmed.Of course, the judge pointed out that there could be advantages to having the Authors Guild declared as the stand-in for all authors. For example, if Google actually wins, then that would make life easier for Google. However, Google's lawyer responded that the company wants the right result, not the most expedient.
“Wouldn’t Google be delighted that this is a class action if I find it’s fair use?,” Judge Chin asked Thursday.Of course, the Authors Guild has a rather different take on all of this, insisting that "millions of authors" have been harmed by Google helping people find their books. I'm not quite sure how that makes much sense, but it appears that if the Authors Guild had its way, libraries would pay extra to build card catalogs, since, you know, that's making use of the works without a license.
“No,” Ms. Durie said. “We care institutionally whether the law is being applied correctly. The correct application is not to certify a class.”
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: authors guild, book scanning, class action, fair use, publishing
Companies: authors guild, google
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Re: Rental
I do think it's kinda amusing that the guild is arguing that google providing snippets of books hurts them, when all it does would be to show people whether or not they might enjoy the work, and has probably persuaded some people to go and buy full copies.
Add Your Comment