Authors Guild v. Google Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
770 F. Supp. 2d 666 (2011)
Google Inc. (defendant) scanned millions of library books, including copyrighted ones scanned without permission, to create a searchable database showing text snippets. After authors and publishers (plaintiffs) sued for infringement, the parties negotiated an Amended Settlement Agreement (ASA) letting Google sell full access to an electronic-books database (with revenue sharing) and requiring prior authorization only for in-print, not out-of-print, books, with an opt-out option for rights holders. Class members objected, and the plaintiffs sought final approval of the ASA under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.
Whether fair use is a defense to copyright infringement if the infringer sells the copyrighted works for profit without the copyright holder's consent.