Which seems like a huge duh to me, but I think this is a great decision and I hope it's upheld on (inevitable) appeal.
And, speaking as someone who's tried to use snippets to look at a broader page context, that's maddeningly non-trivial (and, in some cases, not possible); the idea of doing that to read all or part of a book is ludicrous.
Reshared post from +Les Jenkins
This is a big win for Google. It'll be interesting to see if they can prevail in appeals court.
Google Books ruled legal in massive win for fair use
Scans that show snippets are legal—they don’t replace the full book.
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It really depends on Google’s definition of ‘snippet’ doesn’t it? If its over 5% then this is a further erosion of the rights those who actually create. Funny, when the boot is on the other foot Google and Apple are only too willing to sue (because apparently a rounded oblong is somehow not obvious)