'Google is stealing business from retailers'

The Authors Guild says that Google Inc. is stealing business from retailers and has asked a New York federal appeals court to find that the Internet giant is violating copyright laws with its massive book digitization project.

The Guild filed papers with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday. The Guild asked the appeals court to reinstate its lawsuit alleging that Google's effort to create the world's largest digital library was violating the rights of authors.

(Also see: Google, authors go head to head over digital books)

It said Google was driving potential book purchasers away from online book retailers, boosting its advertising revenues and stifling competition through its book project.

Google declined to comment on the Guild's effort to reverse a November ruling.

In November, a judge had ruled in favor of the Mountain View, California-based company.

(Also see: Authors Guild appeals ruling in Google booking-scanning case)