Have the Courts Given Google a License to Steal From Authors?

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If I were to scan Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, post 16% of it on my website to attract visitors, and then sell advertising at prices justified by the number of visitors, I would be infringing on Hannah’s copyright. I could (and probably should) be sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But when Google does the same thing with millions of books, it is not infringing. Instead, Google is applauded for expanding “public knowledge and understanding.” Is this legal?

This is one of the key...