In an August 15 order, Judge Denny Chin accepted a joint amicus brief from the Library Copyright Alliance (a coalition of three major library groups) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation as well as a brief from group of digital humanities scholars, both in support of Google in the Authors Guild vs. Google case. Chin gave the AG, who had opposed acceptance of the briefs, until September 17 to file a response. Notably, the court also affirmed the current schedule, which means that despite media reports suggesting otherwise, the appeal to be heard by the Second Circuit will not lead to a suspension of the current proceeding, at least not at this time.
In the order, Chin affirmed that opposition briefs will be filed by August 24; replies by September 17; and oral argument on the motions for summary judgment will proceed on October 9. A date has not yet been set for a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit to hear Google's appeal.
The LCA/EFF amicus brief in the Google case comes after its filing of a similar brief in support of the HathiTrust in its battle with the Authors Guild. The brief strongly supports Google’s fair use argument. “The touchstone of any fair use analysis is whether the use in question furthers the purposes of copyright law, [t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts,” the brief concludes. “Amici urge the Court to find that the fair use doctrine shelters [Google Books], and the activities that make it possible.”
