The Authors Guild has responded to the court verdict regarding the Hathi Trust earlier this week, saying in a site post that “we disagree with nearly every aspect of the court’s ruling. We’re especially disappointed that the court refused to address the universities’ ‘orphan works’ program, which defendants have repeatedly promised to revive.” Executive director Paul Aiken writes of his concern that “the temptation to find reasons to release these digitized books clearly remains strong, and the university has consistently pledged to reinstate the orphan works program. The court’s decision leaves authors around the world at risk of having their literary works distributed without legal authority or oversight.” The Guild says, “We’ll be discussing the decision with our colleagues and co-plaintiffs in Europe, Canada, and Australia and expect to announce our next steps shortly.”
