Authors Guild vs. Google and the possibility of a shared, but private, database of accessible documents

Authors Guild vs. Google (2013) is precedent for maintaining a database of originally scanned but then OCR’d documents of published work as long as all of the documents within that database fall under fair use. The TEACH act would allow instructors to have access to the database and disability related civil rights laws (Section 504 and the ADA) allows students who have a documented disability on campus to have access to the database.

A shared, password-protected database also opens-up the possibility of university to university collaboration. People who have the right to use the text-based documents of published work at UMass Boston (instructors and people with documented disabilities) would also have the right to view documents made accessible at other universities, and vice versa, as long as those documents are used for educational purposes only.