Appeals Court: Google’s Book Database ‘Transformative’ Under Copyright

Google’s effort to scan more than 20 million books counts as fair use under copyright law, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Google Books, started in 2004, scans mostly out of print volumes and makes them searchable online. Judge Denny Chin wrote that Google’s book search is transformative because “words in books are being used in a way they have not been used before.” Google does not pay copyright holders but only snippets, not full texts, are available online, and the company offers some full books for sale through Google Play in an agreement with publishers. The executive director of plaintiff Authors Guild said it would appeal.