The thumbnail decision is quite a different one. Photographers sell
photographs, and were upset that Google was making small versions
available. But publishers do not sell covers; they sell books.

The thumbnail rationale, though apparently legally sufficient, is
complex. Showing a cover of a book in a bookstore or library is not—it
falls under the fair use harbor that showing a photo of any product
you sell or rent is fair use. That and/or the harbor of commentary.
There are limits—you clearly can't take covers and turn them into
posters for sale. But the core principle is clear.

I'm going to add something to the effect that we guarantee no legal
use of the covers.

Tim (Not a Lawyer, etc.)

On Thu, Aug 7, 2008 at 5:18 PM, Jonathan Rochkind <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> David Pattern wrote:
>>
>> On the subject of copyright, wasn't there a recent case brought against
>> Google's Image Search where the judge ruled that thumbnails do not violate
>> the copyright of the original image?
>>
>
> Yes, but the facts in that case weren't quite the same as the facts in the
> hypothetical case we are talking about. It woudln't neccesarily be decided
> the same, although the defense lawyers in our hypothetical case would
> certainly cite that case.
>
> At any event, if the publishers don't mind, it doesn't matter.
>
> And as seeing a post from Dave reminds me, even what I know about the murky
> grey areas of this issue is only US law, I have absolutely no idea how it
> would turn out in other countries. But if the publishers don't mind, it
> won't matter.
>
> Jonathan
>
>
>>  regards
>> Dave Pattern
>> University of Huddersfield
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
> --
> Jonathan Rochkind
> Digital Services Software Engineer
> The Sheridan Libraries
> Johns Hopkins University
> 410.516.8886 rochkind (at) jhu.edu
>



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