Google Books Hits Snag
Google's effort to digitize millions of books took a hit Friday in Paris where a French court ruled that the Internet firm violated French copyright law, the Associated Press reported. The court imposed a $14,300-a-day fine against the firm until Google eliminates the books at the heart of the case from its search engine. Google also was ordered to pay $430,000 in damages and interest to the French publisher, La Martiniere, which brought the case on behalf of other French publishers, according to the AP. Google said it planned to appeal the court's decision.
Google's digital books effort has sparked much controversy. Three U.S. library associations sent a letter earlier this week to the Justice Department urging "active supervision" of a revised settlement between Google and the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. Citing concerns about the head start Google will have over potential competitors, executives from the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries said they "believe that the most effective way to prevent the Registry and Google from abusing the control they will have over the essential research facility enabled by the settlement would be for the court to regulate the parties' conduct under the settlement."
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Intellectual Property
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