Five major publishers filed suit against Google Inc. in Manhattan's federal court on Wednesday seeking to block plans to scan copyrighted works without permission.
The complaint lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Google names as plaintiffs McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc., Pearson Plc's Pearson Education and Penguin Group (USA) units, Viacom Inc.'s Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons Inc.
The suit seeks a declaration that the Web search leader commits infringement when it scans entire books covered by copyright without permission of the copyright owner.
Legal experts say the spat between Google and the publishing industry is shaping up as a new front in the battle over digital duplication of media, including music, movies and now books.
At issue are the rights of copyright holders versus the public's "fair use" interest in being free to use limited portions of these materials for commentary or review, analysts say.
A spokeswoman for the Association of American Publishers said the suit was filed after lengthy discussions broke down last week over the alleged copyright infringement implications of Google's Print Library Project.
All five of the publishers named as plaintiffs in the latest lawsuit have participated in Google's publisher program, according to the company.
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