MGT 640 Unit 3 – Case Analysis
The Google Books Settlement
Rhonda Y. Smith-Gullette
California Intercontinental University (CalU)
MGT 640
Jan 24, 2016
Dr. Ebenezer A. Robinson

Abstract This week’s case titled The Google Books Settlement will be the subject of this case analysis. This case analysis will discuss Google US Corporation: good or bad, fair use doctrine, and Libraries that back project the Google Books Project. This case analysis will conclude with a recommendation and a conclusion that will recap the major points of this analysis.

Overview
People do not read as much anymore. There are other options. YouTube streams videos on every topic imaginable. “Steve Jobs noted people don’t read anymore” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). This is due to the numerous options of acquiring data and information. People are still being educated so what is being used in lieu of books? “e-book sales exploded in 2010, growing from 0.6% of book sales in the United States in 2009 to 6.4%” (Laudon & Traver, 2012).
In 2002 Google began a digital library. The same way Pandora and The Pirate Bay benefited from advertising, Google did also. Problems arose when Google sought go put information on their servers that did not belong to them which brings up copyrighted issues. No royalties or fees were paid and this started Googles problems. Lawsuits were filed. This week’s case titled The Google Books Settlement will be the subject of this case analysis. This case analysis will discuss Google US Corporation: good or bad, fair use doctrine, and Libraries that back project the Google Books Project. This case analysis will conclude with a recommendation and a conclusion that will recap the major points of this analysis. Google US Corporation: a good or bad thing Being an US Internet Corporation is a good and bad thing, depending or your prospective. Consumers need laws for protection. If you are a US Corporation you will be governed by laws. There are seven governing bodies of the internet. There is one that speaks to policies and practices and this is the Internet Society. “The Internet Society (ISOC), which is a consortium of corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that monitors Internet policies and practices” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). “The Internet conform to the laws of the sovereign nation-states in which it operates” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). The US Supreme Court is the ultimate governing body of the land. In this particular case, several entities felt Googles practices were not fair. Lawsuits were brought against Google and were ultimately heard by the US Supreme Court. Settlements can be brought against businesses in this country when they violated laws. There are certain standards that must be upheld or your business can be tied up in the court system for many years. This is a bad aspect of being a US Corporation. The good aspect, there are laws that govern practices. These laws are in place to bring some stability and order. Fair Use Doctrine “The Fair Use Doctrine provides guidelines of how to use copyrighted materials legally without seeking permission or paying royalties” (ExpertLaw, 2016). It also provides a defense against accusations of copyright violation for people who reasonably believed that their use of a copyrighted work was fair use. Google believed they used the Fair Use Doctrine correctly. “Copying and lending of books has been fair since 1930s” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). In 2002 Google scanned books and made them available online. “Publishers give permission to Google to scan their books” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). This is a win-win for publishers, exposing them to a new market. “Google proposed to scan millions of books in university and public libraries, allow users to search for key phrases, all without contacting the publisher or seeking permission or paying a royalty fee” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). Google provided opt out agreements to protect materials the publisher did not want scanned and made available in this manner. “A copyright owner has the legal right to restrict the reproduction of a copyrighted work” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). Google also decided to scan books where the copyright had expired for free. In the early days of these pursuits, Googles mindset was “Stop us if you can.” This mindset seems to go against their moto, “Don’t be Evil.” Googles idea was new and groundbreaking but was it legal. In 2008, Google was involved in a settlement. Google would pay parties suing them for copyright infringements but would retains exclusive rights. Basically, Google was paying the royalties that were not paid initially. Google was supported by universities but came under attack from others. “Not every business is built to survive” (Ranjith, 2010). Google found a way to continue forward with their plans and increase success. “One must manage the bottom-line, keeping one eye glued to expenses” (Spector, 2012). It's important to keep an eye on the bottom-line and make a profit but also it is essential to be innovative and forward thinking. Their project of scanning and making books online feeds into being innovate and forward thinking which has feed into the success Google has today. If Google had interpreted the Fair Use Doctrine correctly, they would not have come under fire with the extensive lists of lawsuits. The courts would have upheld Googles rights per the Fair Use Doctrine.
Libraries that Back This Project “Google has the backing of support from a number of prestigious libraries; University of Michigan, Harvard University, Stanford University, the New York Public Library, and Oxford University” (Laudon & Traver, 2012). With this list of prestigious universities onboard, their legal woes should be minimal but this not the case. Equally as big and powerful i.e. Smithsonian are against Googles endeavors. Google feels they are offering a good service but others feel differently. This is an area that will continue to evolve just like the music and movies. Music and movies had their fight with Napster, The Pirate Bay, etc. Now there is a fight with eBooks evolving Google. We can be sure there will be others. With each fight advancements are made. Recommendation/Conclusion Diversification had helped many companies survive turbulent times when other companies failed. “It's extremely unlikely that all investments will skyrocket. At least one of them is going to do worse than the rest, so get used to it” (HowStuffWorks, 2015). Some investments will do well while others will fail, an advantage and disadvantage. The losses will be offset by the gains. Diversification is a great way to test areas to see if they are profitable without a full commitment. The second recommendation would be to continue to manage the bottom-line. “I don’t see how one can manage a business without keeping one eye glued to expenses” (Spector, 2012). Google has to continue to manage expenses and their bottom-line to ensure they are still in a profitable state for the long haul, they will remain the leader they are today. Google has scanned 15 million books. Approximately 4 million can be accessed free. The other materials are out of print and copyrighted. Google came under attacked with numerous lawsuits, “throwing their projects into legal limbo” (Lauder & Traver, 2012). Federal Judge Denny Chin believed the wording in the settlements language gave Google a monopoly. They would have the right to exploit and profit from books without the permission of the owners. Revised settlement language was requested but was not received so the trial began in 2012. Other copyright infringement lawsuits arose making it extremely difficult for Google to achieve their goals.
Google will gain a dominant control over the digital book world, creating a Google will retain their dominance in digital books industry. They have the resources to fight this issue and they have dedication to their goal. Eventually Google will win the fight and continue to be the leader in this industry.

costs that Google is undertaking. So, again you can see where Google says “Stop us if you can!”

(Laudon, Traver, 2009). No one has been able to as of yet.

References .

References
Laudon, K. C. & Traver, C. G. (2012). E-commerce: Business, Technology, and Society. (8th ed.) New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Expertlaw, (2016). Fair Use Doctrine. Retrieved from http://www.expertlaw.com/library/intellectual_property/fair_use.html
HowStuffWorks, (2015). How Investment Diversification Works. Retrieved from http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/financial-planning/diversification7.htm
Ranjith, K. (2010, September). Bloomberg Business Week. Understand the "Freemium" Business Model. Retrieved From http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz /tips/archives/2010/09/understand_the_freemium_business_model.html
Spector, B. (2012). Implementing Organizational Change: Theory into Practice. New York: Pearson Custom Publishing.