Copyright practice isn’t copyright law, and the latter seems to be on Google’s side even though publisher interests claim otherwise.
Once November rolls around, Pat Schroeder and her Association of American Publishers will either have to file a lawsuit or back down. The ambitious Google Print project, which will see the search engine scan thousands of books from the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, the University of Michigan, and the New York Public Library, plans to begin scanning books again in November.
Google had responded to publisher complaints by declaring a moratorium on book scanning, and agreeing not to scan books publishers request be omitted from the project. Publishers lambasted Google and said it needs to list the books it wants to scan and ask specific permission for them.
Legal experts quoted by InformationWeek think the public good of the project, coupled with existing “fair use” doctrines, will work in Google’s favor. The fair use angle will probably be the hinge upon which the case turns.
Search results that come back from a copyrighted work would only quote several words on either side of a keyword phrase, according to Google. But those searches return advertising in the form of sponsored links on the page, and that represents Google’s revenue stream. Publishers have bitterly complained about Google monetizing these searches.
It could even get a bit worse for publishers with regards to out-of-print works. Google could potentially partner with a print-on-demand company to deliver copies of books publishers no longer produce. Revenue would be split between Google, the printer, and the author; the publishers receive zero.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
