There is no fair-use issue at stake in the case, said Joanne Zack, a lawyer at Boni and Zack, representing The Authors Guild, when arguing about the class-action motion in court on Thursday.

"Google engaged in a campaign that affected millions of authors," Zack said.

Calling Google "intimidating," Zack also said that asking individual authors to individually litigate Google is unfair. She said a class-action status is a fair procedural route and economical way to represent the rights of the authors.

Representing Google, Daralyn Durie of law firm Durie Tangri argued that a class-action status for the group could have "far-reaching implication" on copyright laws. She also said Google's displaying snippets could advance sales of books, which could in fact benefit authors. Durie also pointed out that the issue of author ownership is murky, as some copyrights are held by publishers.

There is an overlap in the class-action and dismissal claims revolving around the ownership of works, noted the presiding judge, Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He said he will make decisions on the motions at a later date, but gave no timetable.