Publishers: Google’s Ebook Ad “Ban” Blocked Legitimate Sellers, Not Pirates

▤ Summary

Major textbook publishers (Cengage Learning, Macmillan Learning, Elsevier, and McGraw Hill) oppose Google’s motion to dismiss a copyright claim tied to Shopping ads that allegedly promoted pirated ebooks. The publishers say Google’s 2021 ban on ebook ads blocked legitimate sellers while pirate sellers continued to run infringing ads, which they argue shows inducement under the Supreme Court’s Cox framework. They cite thousands of identified infringing ads, hundreds of notices to Google, examples of targeted ads linking to pirate sites, and redacted portions of their brief suggesting further evidence. The publishers ask the court to deny Google’s partial judgment motion so the infringement claim can survive and proceed.

▦ Linked Companies

Cloudflare

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McGraw Hill

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Cisco

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Google LLC

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Macmillan Learning

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Cengage Group

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