Lady LUX

Hey LUXies, Controversy is brewing about a 2008 settlement between Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers.

Basically, Google is in the process of creating a “Book Search” tool that allows millions of books to be searched by consumers. Great for the avid LUX-reader!! For this system to be effective though, it requires the scanning of books into this new platform. In order to compensate the authors and publishers of these copyrighted items, Google has agreed to a $125 million price tag to create a “Books Rights Registry.” This settlement allows Google to scan the books online and profit from subscriptions to the online libraries.
Here’s the rub, although this pricey agreement seems to cover current written works, it lacks clarification on the out-of-print books that were not claimed in the original settlement. This is the point of contention and what the Justice Department is currently investigating to see if there will be a formal complaint launched. At this point, the Justice Department is simply doing preliminary research to see if the original agreement is anticompetitive in nature. Meaning, is it written in a way that only allows Google to have rights to these out-of-print works.

Google argues that it has structured the deal so that it’s not exclusive to the company—that is, other groups could choose to scan books as well. The company also says it would make millions of out-of-print books accessible again.—The Tech Beat

Here at LadyLUX, we are anxious to see the outcome of this inquiry. The idea of the book search feature is wonderful, especially with the promise to have access to out-of-print works!! Although, the question still remains if the current deal addresses the right of non-copyrighted books, we are hopeful that Google will be able to come to a win-win agreement soon. For more information, visit The Tech Beat or Google’s Public Policy Blog. LIVE.LEARN.LUX.

Tagged in: authors guild, the association of american publishers, copyright laws, 125 million, online resource, 2008 settlement, google book search, justice department, out-of-print books,