14 DAY TRIAL // 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 additional €10,000 for every day it stores the scanned books from now on. The plaintiffs aren't pleased with the damages awarded, but say the decision serves as a lesson to Google. For its part, Google is determined to fight the decision.
Google Books has been one of the company's most controversial product since launch and faced plenty of opposition from rights holders and competing companies. In the US, publishers and authors groups sued Google with similar claims. The parties have settled last year, but the initial agreement was disputed by many groups leading the US Department of Justice to recommend the judge overseeing the case to dismiss it. Google and the rights groups have come up with a revised settlement which is now under scrutiny by the court.