U.S. Judge for Google’s “Fair Use” in Digital Books Project

September 26, 2013
A Google logo is seen at the entrance to the company's offices in Toronto September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
A Google logo is seen at the entrance to the company’s offices in Toronto September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

Authors, readers, librarians, information specialists, and web users in general listened in this past Monday to federal Judge Denny Chin’s comments concerning Google‘s massive book scanning project. The Authors Guild and groups representing photographers and graphic artists say the project is massive copyright infringement, but Google is arguing for the “fair use” clause of copyright. Fair use is most often used in educational settings, such as in classrooms at UW-Madison. Judge Chin argued that the question of fair use “relies in part on whether the project is a benefit to society” and offered examples of how Google’s project helped people find information.

You can read the full article, and learn more about Judge Chin’s ruling, from Reuters here.