Authors Guild sues Google over library project

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Copyright does not give total control to author/copyright holder.

"It's not up to Google or anyone other than the authors, the rightful owners of these copyrights, to decide whether and how their works will be copied."

This is not true, because copyright gives a limited right to control and not an absolute right to control works. A copyright holder cannot say that a public library cannot lend copies of the book. A copyright holder cannot prevent you from making limited copies of the book under Fair Use provisions.

One of the reasons why copyright holders want digital restriction management (DRM) is so they can impose more restrictions on the work than the statutory law permits. For example, one important element of copyright law is First Sale. But the copyright cartel has tried numerous times to circumvent this (you can sell it, but DRM prevents the next person from using it. You "rent/license", not "buy", etc.)

In this case, I'd say Google has an uphill battle because of the recent trend towards draconian and unbalanced interpretations of copyright. But, Google is only showing limited exerpts of the work, which is definitely going to be more favorable to a judge's eyes.

Cheers!

Posted by: Root User   Posted on: 09/20/05 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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