Google sued by French publishers
The French publishers union, Le Syndicat National de l'Edition (SNE), has joined book publisher Le Martiniere Groupe in its copyright suit against Google.
The SNE said in a statement that Google Book Search gives access to multiple extracts of works without authorization and, by doing so, holds in contempt the fundamental rules of the right to intellectual property.
The suit, filed in French court on Oct. 24, is similar to the lawsuit Google faces in the U.S. from the Authors Guild.
The SNE and Le Martiniere object to Google's project with some of the world's leading libraries to digitize entire works without the express permission of the publisher.
Google has said that it is within its rights because only excerpts of copyright material can be viewed, not the book in its entirety. Only public domain books are accessible as a whole.