@btrower... Re: S/B class action, but authors should lose
I think that its poor form to criticize another poster when you yourself don't grok the basic meaning of the term 'fair use'.
What Google is doing is theft, plain and simple. Google is not being altruistic in their actions. Actually far from it.
First, let clarify what is meant by the term 'fair use'.
I urge you to read the following web sites:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
and
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Fair+use+doctrine
In short you have four parts to the litmus test:
"
The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
The nature of the copyrighted work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work
"
Google is taking large chunks of the work and publishing it online. Note there is no commentary on the part of Google.
Google makes money from this act even if it's 'free' to you.
Google not only sells ads, but they also capture information as to who browsed their selection, how long and what they were interested in.
That is to say, Google knows who you are, what you are interested in, along with other details. The more they know about you, they better they can 'target' ads. The bottom line is that they gain value from your visit, even if they don't show an ad. (The advertisements are a bonus).
Note that none of this 'value' flows down stream to the author of the work. That is theft. They are using the work of another person to gain value for themselves.
Note that this isn't for books no longer protected under the copyright laws but what they consider 'orphaned' books. That is to say that these books are no longer in print, yet still protected under the copyright laws.
Google is ignoring the law, yet again. They should be fined. Not sure if the Judge's comment was taken out of context, or if he was making a comment based on what had been presented in court.
The one thing that Google has in its favor is that the authors need to show harm which isn't a simple argument.