Not everyone is happy about the internet giant's digitalisation of written works, writes ED PILKINGTONin New York
GOOGLE’S AMBITION to create the largest body of human knowledge on the internet by scanning millions of library books and turning them into a huge digital publishing venture is prompting growing opposition from authors and legal experts who object to its scope and copyright implications.
Opponents and supporters of Google’s plans are lining up for a confrontation that will come to a head on September 4th, the deadline for submissions to be lodged with a US court reviewing the scheme known as Google Book Search.
The court is considering whether to sanction the settlement of a class action suit that Google reached with publishers and writers groups last October. The settlement, approved by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, provides for a pot of $125 million that Google has agreed to pay to cover copyright infringements already committed.
The settlement would also give writers and publishers the equivalent of 63 per cent of future revenues generated by sales of digital books and other income, while Google would keep the remaining 37 per cent. Several groups and individuals are continuing to protest about the deal, saying it rides roughshod over authors’ rights and awards Google a monopoly over a huge body of work.
The latest objection, filed with the court yesterday, comes from a Washington-based lawyer and writer who specialises in class-action law and monopolies. In his 47-page complaint, Scott Gant argues that potentially millions of authors around the world are being coerced into accepting the deal without being fully informed about its implications.
“Anyone taking part in this project should be doing so as a conscious choice to participate, knowing fully what they are doing. In fact, people are being forced to hand over to Google some of their intellectual property often with no understanding of what that means,” Gant said.
Under US class-action law, authors and publishers who do not specifically opt out of the settlement are deemed to have signed up to it.
Google announced its plans five years ago, arguing that the project to build up an online archive of millions of books out of print was part of its mission to “organise the world’s information”. It has scanned at least seven million books, using cameras converting up to 1,000 pages an hour.
Most of the books, which must have been published before January 5th this year, have come from libraries and publishers in the US. Google has so far struck partnerships with 29 of the world’s biggest libraries, including those of Harvard and Stanford and the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England.
The Association of American Publishers, which originally sued Google in 2005 but has since signed up to the settlement, argues the deal is good for publishers, authors and the public. “This will allow the public to become familiar with millions of books that have been out of print and unknown to them or unavailable,” said the association’s Allan Adler.
The mass of conflicting opinions will be drawn together in the New York court before a hearing in October.