UC Libraries Statement on Authors Guild v. HathiTrust Digital Library Appellate Court Ruling

The University of California Libraries join with our HathiTrust colleagues in welcoming the decision by the Second Circuit of the US Court of Appeals that key services of the HathiTrust Digital Library – digitization for the purpose of full-text searching and access for the print-disabled – are fair uses under US copyright law.

We believe this judgment is a significant affirmation of the role of digital technologies in assuring the vitality of our intellectual heritage while protecting the interests of authors and other copyright holders. UC Libraries have been leaders in the effort to convert major research library collections to digital form, digitizing more than 3.6 million volumes from our collections to date and depositing the volumes in HathiTrust for long-term preservation and access. By digitizing our collections and opening them up to new forms of scholarly inquiry through HathiTrust, we are making the intellectual treasures in our nation’s libraries more discoverable in the digital age and connecting these books to new generations of readers and scholars. Bringing this rich heritage into greater public awareness serves the shared interests of all who seek to advance human knowledge and understanding, including libraries, authors, and the reading public.

Official HathiTrust statement: http://www.hathitrust.org/authors_guild_lawsuit_appeal_ruling

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