The case has been hotly debated, in and out of the courtroom. Is it “legal” for Google to scan in all those books, and post “snippets”? With all the back-and-forth, the battle of the books continues.
Now, we’ve got the latest turn… Joseph Ax writes:
“Google Inc’s massive effort to scan millions of books for a digital library violates copyright law, illegally depriving authors of licensing fees, royalties and sales, a lawyer for a group of authors told a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday.”
Last year, the federal judge (Denny Chin) ruled in Google’s favor, saying that the scanning and display off snippets does constitute “fair use”. The decision from the appeals court is expected in a few months.
I’m curious… What do you think? Have you read (or heard about the case that has unfolded thus far). Do the authors have a leg to stand on? Or, should Google be allowed to snippet away at their discretion?