Google books case proves.

Adam Clark Estes, “How copyright lawsuits could kill OpenAI,” Vox, 01-18-2024, https://www.vox.com/technology/2024/1/18/24041598/openai-new-york-times-copyright-lawsuit-napster-google-sony

“If you have to go to copyright owners for permission for technological innovation, you’re going to get a lot less innovation,” McSherry told Vox.

That in mind, there’s one more copyright lawsuit worth looking at: the Google Books case. In 2004, Google started scanning books, including copyrighted works, so that “snippets” of their text would show up in search results. It partnered with libraries at places like Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Michigan, as well as magazines, like New York Magazine and Popular Mechanics, that wanted their archives digitized.

Then came the lawsuits, including a 2005 class action suit from the Authors Guild. The authors cried copyright infringement, and Google claimed that making books searchable amounted to fair use. As Judge Denny Chin said in a 2013 decision dismissing the authors’ lawsuit, Google Books is transformative because, thanks to the tool, “words in books are being used in a way they have not been used before.” It took about a decade, but Google eventually won, and Google Books is now legal.

Like Sony and Napster before it, the Google Books case is ultimately about the battle between new technology platforms and copyright holders. It also raises the question of innovation. Is it possible that giving copyright holders too much power could stifle technological progress?

In that 2013 decision, Judge Chin said its technology “advances the progress of the arts and sciences, while maintaining respectful consideration for the rights of authors and other creative individuals, and without adversely impacting the rights of copyright holders.” And a 2023 economics study of the effects of Google Books found that “digitization significantly boosts the demand for physical versions” and “allows independent publishers to introduce new editions for existing books, further increasing sales.” So consider that another point in favor of giving tech platforms room to innovate.