In a decision that may have deep and wide-ranging implications for the publishing industry and for future applications of the fair use doctrine, Judge Denny Chin has dismissed the Authors Guild’s eight-year-old lawsuit against Google over its Google Books project.
Publishers have lost ground in the public debate of the role of publishing in scholarly communications. A new strategy is needed, one that emphasizes preemption, cooptation, and innovation.
The orphan works problem is not easily resolved, but it may not be such a big problem, as books mostly become orphans because there is little demand for them.
The Google Books Settlement actually hit its second roadblock this week. Here’s why, and where matter might go from here.