Authors Guild Wants Lawsuit Against Universities Revived

The Authors Guild is asking an appeals court to revive its lawsuit against five universities that worked with Google to digitize books.

The authors' organization is asking the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that the digitization initiative is not protected by fair use principles. "The Libraries’ actions subvert the fundamental premises of copyright law and, unless enjoined, threaten to decimate existing and developing markets for literary works," the Authors Guild argues in its legal papers. Last year, U.S. District Court Harold Baer in New York rejected that argument, ruling that the project was "transformative," and therefore met the criteria for fair use. He characterized the project as an "invaluable contribution to the progress of science and cultivation of the arts," in a ruling granting summary judgment to the HathiTrust.