Major Publishers Sue Google Over Ads for Pirated Ebooks

Elsevier, Cengage Learning, Macmillan Learning, and McGraw Hill charge that Google has ’caused immeasurable harm’ by advertising pirated content.

Google’s Manhattan site on Washington Street, Hudson Square, in Manhattan. Image – Getty iStockphoto: MDoculus

By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

Publishers Allege ‘Infringement After Infringement’

Filed today (June 5) in a 46-page complaint with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a new lawsuit addresses what its plaintiffs say are “Google’s systemic and pervasive advertising of unauthorized, infringing copies” of ebook versions of textbooks by four of the world’s largest international educational publishers. The plaintiffs say that Google’s handling of infringement notices has been “a circus of failures.”

The plaintiffs are Elsevier; Cengage Learning; Macmillan Learning; McGraw Hill.

Cengage Learning Inc v. Google LLC asserts in its complaint today that, “The publishers [the plaintiffs] have reported infringement after infringement to Google, only to have those reports ignored. Google has continued to advertise infringing works while simultaneously restricting ads for authentic educational works—supporting piracy instead of legitimacy.

“Google’s conduct violates the Copyright Act, the Lanham Act, and New York’s General Business Law,” the complaint alleges, “causing immeasurable harm to [the] plaintiffs. Now, that harm must be remedied.”

Writing from Washington on the lawsuit this afternoon, Reuters’ Blake Brittain quotes the plaintiffs’ attorney, Matt Oppenheim of Oppenheim + Zebrak, saying that Google has become “a ‘thieves’ den’ for textbook pirates.”

Publishing Perspectives has requested a comment from Google and will update this story if a statement is provided.

Speaking in support of the four plaintiff-publishers, Mark Bledsoe, who is the general counsel for VitalSource, an online provider of educational materials, says in a comment provided to Publishing Perspectives, “At VitalSource, we want all students to have the tools they need to thrive. Ensuring students have access to affordable and secure educational resources is essential for their success.

“The legal action taken by our publisher partners highlights the escalating severity of the challenges faced by students. Google’s policies have fostered an environment that exposes students to fraudulent vendors while restricting the rights of authorized providers.

“Students buying from illegitimate sources often get nothing but a stolen credit card, incomplete materials, and no refunds, leaving them without funds or essential course materials. As such, we strongly encourage Google to enact fair policies and effective measures to combat piracy, creating a safer marketplace for students.”

Publishers: ‘A Circus of Failures’

In their complaint, the plaintiffs write, “The publishers have long been sending notices of infringement to the agent Google designated to receive such notices.

“Each notice identifies hundreds or thousands of specific Google ads for infringing works, including the ad URLs, the infringed copyrighted works, and the pirates’ infringing Web sites to which the ads contain direct links. Google’s responses to these notices have been a circus of failures.

“Google has failed to remove thousands of ads for infringing works in a timely manner, or at all, and has continued to do business with known pirates. Google has even threatened to stop reviewing all of the publishers’ notices for up to six months simply because the publishers appropriately re-submitted notices for infringing works that Google previously failed to act upon. ”

And the plaintiffs deepen their complaint by asserting in their filing’s introduction, “Moreover, Google refuses to allow legitimate sellers like the publishers to advertise standalone digital books on Google’s shopping platform, but allows such ads from pirate sellers.

“As a result, the textbook market is upside down, as the worlds’ largest online advertising business advertises ebooks for pirates but rejects ebook ads for legitimate sellers. Google’s practices harm consumers, who are directed to illegal, inferior products. Google’s practice likewise harms the publishers, whose sales decrease, while the pirates’ sales increase. This deceptive trade practice violates New York law.”

As Omar Mohammed at Newsweek is writing today, “Part of the harm, the publishers said, emerges from Google’s search engine dominance. It generates more than US$300 billion in advertising revenues through the platform.”

Exhibits filed with the complaint at the Southern District of New York include a 78-page listing of “authentic works” the publishers present with copyright registrations, and a document of their legal trademarks, which the plaintiffs allege are appearing on pirated content, misleading consumers who might believe the pirated work to be authentic.

In an article published this afternoon at Search Engine Land, Anu Adegbola writes, “The case could reshape how tech giants handle copyright infringement and impact the US$8.3 billion US textbook market.”

More from Publishing Perspectives on academic publishing is here, more on book piracy is here, more on textbook publishing is here, more on educational publishing is here, and more on issues in copyright infringement is here.