Re: Catalogs.google.com and copyright

>So here is my academic query: if someone were to build such a
>Web-based index of scanned page images from paper product catalogs,
>and if one did not have explicit permission from a given catalog to
>do same, would one not be infringing the catalog publisher's copyright?

Of course. If you look at the "Information for Catalog Vendors" page, it's pretty clear that the vendors supplied Google with the catalogs. Since they currently scan and list them for free, a catalog would be nuts not to do so.

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John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869
johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, 
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