Post-mortem Panel on Authors Guild v. Google Hearing

The Authors Guild lawsuits against Google and its library partners (brought separately as Authors Guild, Inc. v. HathiTrust) have set much of the stage for how US copyright law impacts efforts to mass digitize book collections. On December 3, 2014 at 2 p.m., the Second Circuit heard argument in the appeal of Authors Guild v. Google, where Judge Denny Chin granted judgment in favor of Google, finding that its book digitizing activities were fair use under Section 107 of the US Copyright Act. This panel focused on the contents of the appeal, including the questions presented, the briefing, the argument, and the implications for any certiorari petition to the Supreme Court. Featured speakers included: Greg Cram, Associate Director of Copyright and Information Policy, New York Public Library; Jeremy Goldman, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz PC, Counsel for the Authors Guild; Joseph Gratz, Durie Tangri (Counsel for Google); Corynne McSherry, Intellectual Property Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Professor Jason Schultz, Director, Technology Law & Policy Clinic and Co-Director of the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy; and Fred von Lohmann, Legal Director for Copyright, Google. Co-sponsored by the New York Public Library.