French Court to Google: Stop Scanning

Beleaguered publishers won one against Google today as a French judge ordered the company to immediately stop scanning French books. The court sided with French publisher La Martiniere and other industry groups, who claimed in a lawsuit that the search giant’s book-scanning project violates copyrights. The company must also pay out $430,000 in damages, the Paris Civil Court ruling mandates. The plaintiffs argued that Google did not make an effort to check with rightful owners before digitizing the texts.

“We are very, very satisfied,” a lawyer for Editions du Seuil, one of La Martiniere's houses, tells Bloomberg. “The decision is immediately enforceable, so even if they appeal, they must stop the scanning.” (More Google stories.)