For nearly 10 years the Authors Guild has pursued litigation against Google for the internet company’s scanning of out-of-print books to its service. In a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals suggested that Google’s use of the books was fair. “The classic fair use cases are commercial,” said Judge Pierre Leval. “I would be surprised if you’re going to win this case by pleading that Google, like the New York Times, is profit [oriented].” The appeal comes about a year after another judge ruled that Google’s books project benefited the public and did not harm authors. The company is sticking to that line of thought, with its attorney calling the endeavor “incredibly transformative.” [Gigaom/Bloomberg]

Microsoft’s e-reader woes continue. Back in 2012, the tech titan purchased a 17.6 percent stake in Barnes & Noble’s Nook for $300 million—and has now sold that stake for a comparatively meager $62 million. The Barnes & Noble representative the sale—which came at a nearly 80 percent loss—came about “as the respective business strategies of each company evolved” and “mutually agreed that it made sense to terminate the agreement.” [L.A. Times]

Just in time for the Republican primaries, Penguin Random House imprint NAL will publish a posthumous Ayn Rand work on July 7, 2015. Ideal will be the first new material from the author since 1957’s Atlas Shrugged—and it’s actually a double-dose. Rand first wrote Ideal in 1934, while she was in her late twenties. Then, unhappy with the end result, she went back to the drawing board and rewrote it as a play. Both iterations have sat in the Ayn Rand Institute’s archives since her 1982 death, but now they will both see publication in a single volume. “The arrival of a never-before-seen Ayn Rand novel will thrill dedicated readers and is a true publishing event.” said NAL’s publisher Kara Welsh. [Publishers Weekly]