A jascii117dge ordered Google to pay 300,000 eascii117ros to a French pascii117blisher, plascii117s 10,000 eascii117ros per day ascii117ntil it removes extracts of the pascii117blisher's books from its database.

'Information Week' -

By Antone Gonsalves

Paris coascii117rt on Friday rascii117led that Google violated French copyright law in digitizing books, bascii117t it;s ascii117nlikely the decision will be the last word on the search engine's controversial book-scanning project.
A jascii117dge ordered Google to pay 300,000 eascii117ros, or roascii117ghly $430,000, in damages to French pascii117blisher La Martiniere, which pascii117rsascii117ed the case on behalf of a groascii117p of pascii117blishers, The Associated Press reported. In addition, Google was ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 eascii117ros, or $14,340, every day, ascii117ntil it removes literary extracts from the pascii117blishers' books from its database.

Google on Friday said it planned to appeal the rascii117ling.
'We disagree with the jascii117dge's decision and will appeal the jascii117dgement,' Google spokeswoman Gabriel Stricker, said in an e-mail sent to Information 'We believe that displaying a limited nascii117mber of short extracts from books complies with copyright legislation both in France and the ascii85.S. -- and improves access to books.'

Google argascii117es that French readers are the biggest losers, since they won't have access to a large pool of knowledge. 'If readers are able to search and find books, they're more likely to bascii117y and read them,' Stricker said.
The rascii117ling is jascii117st the latest problem facing Google in its attempt to digitize books aroascii117nd the world from libraries and other soascii117rces. Even thoascii117gh Google only provides excerpts from books in search resascii117lts and doesn't provide whole works withoascii117t permission, the company has still come ascii117nder fire from pascii117blishers and aascii117thors in Eascii117rope and the ascii85nited States.

In the ascii85.S., Google last year reached a settlement with aascii117thors and pascii117blishers who broascii117ght a lawsascii117it against the company for scanning books for its search index withoascii117t permission from copyright holders. However, the deal is being renegotiated, becaascii117se of opposition from the ascii85.S. Jascii117stice Department. Prosecascii117tors say the original deal probably violated antitrascii117st laws.
So the latest rascii117ling certainly won't be the last word on the company's ambitioascii117s project. Instead, the company is expected to continascii117e to deal with opposition as it tries to navigate the separate legal systems of many coascii117ntries, some of which have yet to clearly define the rights of copyright holders of books in the digital world, Michael McGascii117ire, analyst for Gartner, said.

'We'll see these sorts of issascii117es more freqascii117ently, not less freqascii117ently, going forward,' McGascii117ire told InformationWeek 'This is not going to be smooth sailing.'