Google Print Faces More Legal Hurdles

The Association of American Publishers on Wednesday announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Google to stop the search giant from copying books for its Google Print Library Project. The group said it filed the suit after talks with Google broke down.

The AAP is the second organization to take Google to court over the project. In September, the Author's Guild, a non-profit organization that lobbies for writers, accused Google of "massive copyright infringement." It also asked a U.S. District Court in Manhattan to stop the company from copying books.

In the suit, the AAP asks the court to rule that copyright infringement is being committed each time Google copies a book. Five publishing companies make up the group: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Pearson Education, Penguin Group (USA), Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons.

"The publishing industry is united behind this lawsuit against Google and united in the fight to defend their rights," said AAP President Schroeder in a statement. "The bottom line is that under its current plan Google is seeking to make millions of dollars by freeloading on the talent and property of authors and publishers."

Google has said in the past that publishers have a way of opting out of the system, and that it regrets that some groups are choosing "litigation to try to stop a program that will make books and the information within them more discoverable to the world."

The company says that it plans to start indexing books on November 1, prompting concerned members of the publishing industry to use legal action to prevent Google from starting the project.

Schroeder added that while "Google Print Library could help many authors get more exposure and maybe even sell more books, authors and publishers should not be asked to waive their long-held rights so that Google can profit from this venture."