Since the announcement of Google’s foray into the printed word industry, Google Print has been followed by controversy. Because of the methods being used to populate the Google Print index, many are worried about copyright issues as well as the ability to view pages in the GP result pages.
Of course, these worries and misgivings have not deterred Google in one bit. However, a new protest launched by publishers is trying to get the search engine’s attention once again.
According to an article in DMNews, the publisher group, which includes The Association of American University Presses, is protesting Google Print’s scanning of materials because they feel certain publishers may not want their work to be included. Contents from the libraries from the Harvard, Michigan and Stanford universities are of most concern to the protest group.
The group is also concerned Google will be giving digitized copies of these university works to other publishers who are taking part in the Google Print indexing process. The complaints stem from the fact that Google believes they can provide copies of these works without seeking permission. According to the DMNews article, many who signed up for Google’s “Print for Publishers” program did not know they are also apart of the “Print for Libraries” program as well.
AAUP executive director Peter Givler indicates Google representatives did not reveal those participating in the publishers program were enrolled in the print for libraries portion.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for murdok. Visit murdok for the latest search news.
