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Friday morning, a Parisian court convicted Google (GOOG) in a copyright infringement case surrounding the online publication of French books. The French judge ruled that Google has to pay roughly $430,000 in damages and interest to French publishing house La Martiniere.
In addition, Google was ordered to pay 10,000 euro per day until the French books are taken down from the online database. This decision is notable because publishers and libraries in both the U.S. and Europe have criticized Google for its decision to scan millions of books and make them available online.
This decision sets a standard that Google cannot be happy about. If the United States and England decide to follow the example set by France, then Google's idea of scanning millions of books has hit a major roadblock. Copyright infringement is the one thing I can see totally derailing Google's hopes for world literary domination. Perhaps it isn't that dramatic, but I do believe this could have a bit of an impact on Google's hopes for its plan to scan a majority of literature and make it available on the Intrawebs. Quite frankly, I like the idea, but I can see why publishers do not. Think of what has happened to major newspapers now that you can access a majority of news content online. Think of what the RIAA has had to do thanks to pirated music and peer sharing -- remember Napster, anyone?
Bottom line: the decision of the French court is a blow for Google, but it doesn't completely wipe out any chances of the sultan of search creating a massive online library.
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