US court rejects lawsuit filed by authors to prevent Google from digitizing millions books, judging it to be fair use under US copyright laws.
Disappointment is expressed by the American Writers' Association, which accuses Google of violating intellectual property by digitizing millions of books for its online library without permission, and intends to appeal.
Judge Denny Chin accepted Google's argument that the digitization of books - whether extracts are available through the Internet - is a legitimate use.
Digitize 20 million books
Google launched the Google Books service 2004 and has already digitized more than 20 million books. "In my opinion, the Google Books service offers a significant public benefit," Judge Qin said.
Google's plan not only offers “a new and efficient way for readers and researchers,” added the judge, but “it has become a necessary tool searchs, as it helps librarians catalog and find sources, makes the interlibrary loan process more efficient, and makes it easier to find and check clippings."
The judge also pointed out that Google does not sell digitized books themselves.
