Google Book Search Fair Use Defense Must Be Considered Prior to Class Status

A federal district court erred in certifying a class of authors objecting to the mass scanning of books for the Google Book Search project without first addressing Google’s claim of fair use, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled July 1 (Authors Guild Inc. v. Google Inc., 2d Cir., 12-3200-cv, 7/1/13).

Vacating the certification of the class without prejudice, the court remanded the matter for proceedings on the fair use question. This decision comes nearly a year after the Second Circuit granted Google leave to seek interlocutory appeal of the certification.

Years-Long Dispute.

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