With the latest iteration of the Google Books settlement, it looked like the company was finally in the clear and able to focus on the product instead of lawsuits but this, unfortunately, isn’t the case. While it may have quieted critics in the US, elsewhere, especially in Europe, there are plenty of people more than upset at Google’s nerve to make books more available to those who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance. This is the case in France, where Google will have to pay €300,000 ($430,000) to publisher La Martiniere for infringing on its copyright by scanning its books.
A Paris court found Google guilty of infringement for exposing fragments of the scanned books online. Google doesn’t allow users to actually access or view the entire books, rather it enables them to search the contents and displays short excerpts of the portion of the text containing the query.
Still, the French publisher demanded that it be paid for the content and, in the original claim La Martiniere, the French Publishers’ Association and authors’ group SGDL, the parties who filed the lawsuit, asked for damages of €15 million for the crime. The judge found in the plaintiff’s favor, but the damages issued fell way short of the demands.
However, on top of the initial fine, Google will also have to pay an addit… (read more)