Google sued by French publishers
The French publishers union, Le Syndicat National de l'Edition (SNE), has joined book publisher Le Martiniere Groupe in its copyright suit against Google.
The SNE said in a statement that Google Book Search gives access to multiple extracts of works without authorization and, by doing so, holds in contempt the fundamental rules of the right to intellectual property.
The suit, filed in French court on Oct. 24, is similar to the lawsuit Google faces in the U.S. from the Authors Guild.
The SNE and Le Martiniere object to Google's project with some of the world's leading libraries to digitize entire works without the express permission of the publisher.
Google has said that it is within its rights because only excerpts of copyright material can be viewed, not the book in its entirety. Only public domain books are accessible as a whole.
The SNE had issued a notice of support when Le Martiniere filed suit against Google in June.
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. E-mail her at candacelombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET. 
