A Look at Google's Book Scanning Project and Copyright Laws

In 2006, Google launched a major endeavor to put the contents of books into its search engine

. In other words, a person can now access Google and do a search that will pull up the content of different books.

The Google Book Scanning Project includes the contents of books in its search program in two ways:

First, the Google Book Scanning Project makes available the entire contents of significant (famous, highly regarded or important) books through a Google search. For example, because the Bible itself is within the public domain, and because it is an important book, Google takes the position that it not only can, but should, make the entire contents of the Bible available to people through its search engine. (Books in the public domain are books written so long ago that there no longer exists any exclusive copyright claim to them. The works of William Shakespeare are another example.)

Second, the Google Book Scanning Project is stepping beyond public domain books by including many books protected by copyright laws. Google is scanning in the entire contents of these books. Google maintains that it only allows a person the ability to access a portion of the text through the Google Book Scanning Project. Google maintains that it follows the Fair Use Doctrine by providing only a limited amount of the text of a book protected by copyright law.

The Google Book Scanning Project has been met with mixed reviews. In some sectors, the Google Book Scanning Project has enflamed the debate over how the Fair Use Doctrine is intended to work.

The Fair Use Doctrine permits the limited usage of copyrighted material for academic purposes. A researcher can utilized a small portion of copyrighted text as part of an academic paper or research report. Similarly, a student can utilize copyrighted material as part of his or her own academic efforts. As mentioned before, Google contends that its efforts fall within the Fair Use Doctrine.

Writers and other people with a keen interest in copyright enforcement contend that Google has gone beyond the Fair Use Doctrine in its Google Book Scanning Project. In fact, when copyrighted books were introduced into the Google system in 2006, people accessing these books via the Google search engine were able to view the text of any book included within the Google Book Scanning Project. These people argue that Google has gone too far beyond the limited use (with attribution) that is contemplated by the Fair Use Doctrine.

A Look at Google's Book Scanning Project and Copyright Laws

By: Brian Scott

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