Posted on 05/23/2005 3:57:13 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
Scholarly Publishers Protest Google's Online Library Project
Published: May 23, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A group of academic publishers is challenging Google Inc.'s plan to scan millions of library books into its Internet search engine index, highlighting fears that the ambitious project will violate copyrights and stifle future sales.
In letter scheduled to be delivered to Google Monday, the Association of American University Presses described the online search engine's library project as a troubling financial threat to its membership - 125 nonprofit publishers of academic journals and scholarly books.
The plan "appears to involve systematic infringement of copyright on a massive scale," wrote Peter Givler, the executive director for the New York-based trade group.
The association asked Google to respond to a list of 16 questions seeking more information about how the company plans to protect copyrights.
Two unnamed publishers already asked Google to withhold its copyrighted material from the scanners, but the company hasn't complied with the requests, Givler wrote.
Mountain View-based Google didn't immediately return phone and e-mail messages left Monday.
The association of nonprofit publishers is upset because Google has indicated it will scan copyright-protected books from three university libraries - Harvard, Michigan and Stanford.
Those three universities also operate publishing arms represented by the group complaining about Google's 5-month-old "Libraries for Print" project. That means the chances of the association suing Google are "extremely remote," Givler said in an interview Monday.
Still, Givler said the association is extremely worried about Google's scanning project.
"The more we talked about it with our lawyers, the more questions bubbled up," he said. "And so far Google hasn't provided us with any good answers."
Google also is scanning books stored in the New York Public Library and Oxford in England, but those two libraries so far are only providing Google with "public domain" works - material no longer protected by copyrights.
Federal law allows considers the free distribution of some copyrighted material to be permissible "fair use." The company has told the nonprofit publishers that its library program meets this criteria.
University-backed publishers are concerned there will be little reason to buy their books if Google is successful in its effort to create an online index of the material currently available in libraries.
The university presses depend on books sales and other licensing agreements for most their revenue, making copyright protections essential to their survival.
Google has turned its search engine into a moneymaking machine, generating a $369 million profit during the first three months of this year alone. The company is counting on its library scanning project to attract even more visitors to its site so it can display more ads and potentially boost its earnings even more.
Investors already adore Google. The company's shares surged $13.84, or 5.7 percent, to close Monday at $255.45 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Earlier in the session, the shares traded as high as $258.10 - a new peak since the company went public nine months ago at $85.
AP-ES-05-23-05 1835EDT
I for one, can't wait until I have access to the world's best libraries from my Internet connection. That will be awesome. And someone tell me why not have universal online access to the materials collected and held at the Library of Congress?
There is quite a bit of material on the web already. Google Project Guttenberg.
ML/NJ
UVa's stuff in their Electronic Text Center, and some other places (e.g. Center for Digital History) put Guttenberg to rout. And they have a lot more that the unwashed cannot view.
ML/NJ
This would have been the most wonderful thing in the world, in the 1970's, in Wellton.
We had a tiny one room library, open one day a week and not
another book for sale in the town.
Books on line, would have been the greatest invention of all
time, still is.....LOL
Add the Vatican library and you're on.
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