Google blinks
It's not 6 months, but it is a hiatus: the Google Print project is holding off of scanning copyrighted works until November 1st. After Nov. 1, Google will supposedly implement an opt-out program for publishers/rights holders who don't want their works digitized by Google.
Some publisher associations aren't fully placated by this:
In a written statement, the Association of American Publishers, which has been in talks with Google in recent months, said its concerns had not been allayed."The U.S. publishing industry, through the Association of American Publishers, continues to express to Google grave misgivings about the Google Print Library Project and specifically the project's unauthorized copying and distribution of copyright-protected works," the statement said.
"Their procedure places the responsibility for preventing infringement on the copyright owner rather than the user, and turns every principle of copyright on its ear," said Patricia S. Schroeder, the group's president and chief executive, in the statement.
Comments
The power of property...
While I applaud some of what Google could achieve by this venture, I also suspect that they have vastly underestimated the greed and determination of the publishing industry. The fight between these two factions has really only just begun and the next 20 (yeah, take a LONGER look...) will see incredible changes taking place. Or not...?
Posted by: Dennis Moser | August 13, 2005 07:51 AM
See The Book Standard's story on the Google Print Moratorium, including an interview with Pat Schroeder. I enjoy your blog. We're trying to cover libraries more and more on our site, including at least one Library Spotlight each week. I would wholeheartedly welcome notes from anyone about library issues and areas of coverage you'd like to see more of; or that merit journalistic investigation/analysis.
http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/publisher/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001014378
Thanks.
Posted by: Chuck Shelton | August 13, 2005 12:39 PM
I suspect that Google is preparing itself for a fight in November. Even if they don't carry the day this time around, the tide is certainly changing, and just as the publishers have been able to have their way on Capitol Hill by demanding the strictest possible interpretation of intellectual property law I think we're going to see the so-called "new media" companies prosper by calling for the loosest. The irony is that all parties involved will likely benefit more from the latter regime than they have from the former. Google Print is a textbook example of the Long Tail phenomenon -- when publishers realize the vast market available for low-sales items such as scholarly monographs and the like thanks to the free publicity generated by mass digitization and online searchability, they'll hopefully come around or else they will wage a losing war in the legal arena, not to mention the battle for public opinion. The publishing conglomerates are already on the shit list of most of their best-paying customers -- such as libraries -- and it wouldn't take much to encourage them to seek out alternatives to the current paradigm.
Great blog, btw.
Posted by: Jersey Exile | August 25, 2005 09:54 AM