Aug 2 2009
The point of the Google Book Settlement is to make money. There are some that argue that it is designed to provide more access to literature than is currently being provided, but money is involved here otherwise there wouldn’t be lawsuits. Google Book Settlement has authorized four different revenue models and contemplates others. The four [...]
Jul 12 2009
Introduction In 2003 Google announced it had begun scanning books. Its goal was to create a digital library of every piece of printed work that has been put in fixed form. It was, and still is, a noble goal. Google placed these scanned books in a database and made them searchable. On the side of [...]
Jun 10 2009
According to the Alliance for Arts in Canada, publishers are rewriting contracts to require authors to “opt in” to the Google Book Settlement. Is anyone seeing this in the US, UK or other publishers? Please check in (you can do so anonymously). In other Google Book Settlement news, the Department of Justice is sending out [...]
Apr 26 2009
Michael Perry, editor of Inkling Books, wrote an editorial on why he officially objected to the Google Book Settlement. Meljean Brook, author of the Guardian series, wonders why Google couldn’t have asked for permission first before scanning and why Authors’ Guild is pursuing this settlement which requires authors to opt out. Epublishers Weekly has a [...]
Apr 19 2009
The big news on the tech/book blogs is the impending approval of the Google settlement. May 5, 2009, is the final date for filing objections to the Google Settlement. Google Print went live in October 5, 2004. At that time, Google had scanned over 100,000 books to be part of its GoogleBookSearch program wherein it [...]
Nov 27 2007
What might be one of the most important copyright decisions since Sony v. Universal Studios is the case against Google for scanning books. I’m guessing that Google is operating under the belief that the scanning of the books and then offering portions of it in digital format for searchers is transformative enough to escape copyright [...]
Oct 23 2007
As I was waiting for a meeting yesterday, I saw CNN reporting on the issue of libraries and scanning. Some well known research libraries are turning down Microsoft and Google’s offers to scan the contents of the libraries for free. Of course, nothing is really free, and the libraries do not want to bind themselves [...]
Mar 25 2007
According to today’s NY Times Book Review, the editors regret publishing a March 4 essay by Ben Schott. Mr. Schott opined about his book abusing ways in an article entitled “Confessions of a Book Abuser.” Several readers found some disturbing similarities between Schott’s essay and a piece of Anne Fadiman’s 1998 book, “Ex Libris: Confessions [...]
Mar 20 2007
IIL Publishing, a niche publisher who puts out books on project management, is partnering with Google and Microsoft to make its books browsable on the ‘net through Google Book Search and MS Live Search. Publisher Judith Umlas was quoted as saying the reason for the digital move was “to be both innovative and customer-friendly.” It [...]
Mar 7 2007
In an effort to suppress technological innovation, Microsoft decides to cozy up to the Association of American Publishers by accusing Google of consistently violating the copyright law with its Google Book Search. Conveniently, the comments can be read in their entirety at Microsoft’s website. Microsoft asserts it understands and shares concerns regarding the troubling nature [...]
Feb 27 2007
Yesterday, HarperCollins rolled out its “Browse Inside” feature that will eventually be available for all its books and could be embedded in blogs and websites. Not to be outdone, Random House debuted its “Browse and Search” widget. I like the Random House Widget better as it is just the cover and gives you the option [...]
Feb 26 2007
HarperCollins launched its “Browse Inside” feature on its website today. Similar to Amazon’s “Search Inside” and a competitor to Google’s Book Search, Harper’s “Browse Inside” allows readers to “get a sense” of the book before purchasing. According to the website, every HarperCollins book will have a “Browse Inside” feature. Each book has different content available. [...]
Jan 28 2007
In 2004, Google announced its plan to scan every book printed. They began working with university libraries such as Harvard, University of Michigan, and Oxford. This caused the publishing industry some great consternation because an author’s work would be included automatically unless the author chose to opt out. Problem was that Google never alerted the [...]
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