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Authors sue universities over digital libraries
AUTHORS ARE SUING several universities around the world, including the UK and US, over the infringement of copyright of up to seven million books in their digital libraries.
The Authors Guild, the Australian Society of Authors, the Union Des Ecrivaines et des Ecrivains Quebecois (UNEQ) and eight individual authors have filed lawsuits against the University of Michigan, the University of California, the University of Wisconsin, the Indiana University and the Cornell University for copyright infringement, according to the Associated Press.
The issue revolves around the use of 'orphan' works, which are texts that are out of print, with no known whereabouts for the author, leaving the books in a kind of grey area on the outskirts of copyright law. These texts were uploaded to the University of Michigan's Hathitrust online library, to which other universities subsequently signed up.
The books were scanned from the University's physical library by Google, with five million done so far and several million left to go, but the authors and author societies claim that the scanning was unauthorised and illegal.
The University's dean of libraries, Paul Courant, said that it was in talks with the Authors Guild about some of the texts and was therefore surprised by the lawsuit. He added that he is confident that everything they have done and plan to do "is lawful use of these works".
The author societies do not agree, with the executive director of the Australian Society of Authors saying, "These aren't orphaned books, they're abducted books," while the president of UNEQ, Daniele Simpson, suggested that if this is allowed to stand then any university can make up its own rules about what qualifies as copyright infringement.
The authors want the books removed, in addition to unspecified damages.
The timing of this move is interesting, as Google and the book industry have until 15 September to come to an agreement over a long sought deal to create the largest online library in the world. Google's participation in the University of Michigan's alleged copyright infringement could put a damper on any possible agreement, or it could open up the possibility for universities to turn to Google for the digital library of their dreams. µ
Tags: Google
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I thought only the copyright holder had standing to sue. If the copyright holders can’t be found, how do these authors’ “guilds” (now there’s a monopolistic term straight out of the Middle Ages) somehow automatically assume control of the copyright? Seems to me they’re trying to do the same sort of thing they’re claiming the universities aren’t allowed to do.