Publishers Sue Google Over Ads For Pirated E-Books

Publishers Sue Google Over Ads For Pirated E-Books

Google faces a lawsuit filed by educational publishers Cengage, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill, and Elsevier. The publishers allege that Google is complicit in promoting pirate copies of their textbooks through its search engine.

The lawsuit, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Google of disregarding thousands of copyright infringement notices and profiting from the sale of pirated digital textbooks. According to the publishers, Google’s search results prominently feature heavily discounted pirated versions of textbooks, overshadowing legitimate options.

Matt Oppenheim, the publishers' attorney from Oppenheim + Zebrak, criticized Google, calling it a "thieves' den" for textbook pirates. The complaint asserts that pirated e-books appear at the top of search results due to their artificially low prices, while legitimate, licensed e-books are pushed down.

The lawsuit claims that Google's actions have exacerbated the issue by restricting ads for legitimate e-books, thereby disrupting the textbook market. The publishers allege that Google’s online advertising platform promotes pirated e-books while rejecting ads from authorized sellers.

"As a result, the textbook market is upside down, as the world's largest online advertising business advertises ebooks for pirates but rejects ebook ads for legitimate sellers," the lawsuit said.

The publishers have been raising concerns with Google about these issues since 2021, but allege that their complaints have been ignored. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for copyright and trademark infringement as well as deceptive trade practices.