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Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Writers sue Google Print over copyright — Here is an organization of writers who simply don’t get it. Now they think they are the RIAA. It’s a known fact that putting long tomes online increases sales. While freely passing around online news may hurt the sales of newspapers, passing around digital copies of books actually increases sales of those same books. So these boneheads want it stopped.
A writers’ group representing more than 8,000 authors is suing Google for “massive copyright infringement” over its fledgling programme of digitizing library books.
The Authors Guild has issued legal proceedings in a New York court claiming damages and demanding the search engine stops uploading the contents of library books.
Google Print launched last October, enables people to search the contents of books online and, according to Google, makes it easier to find relevant books.
It’s entirely bent. But just another front in the battle over who gets to control content. Clue: if the word “Guild” is in your name, you are Dead Man Walking”. A sign of the times. More ranting on this at my post on this topic, at my blog.
I can attest to the fact that I have picked up many books due to being able to first begin reading them electronically. And as handy as a Pocket PC with MS Reader can be, a regular book can be stowed pretty much anywhere and has a much lower battery consumption. In short, dead tree editions are just darn convenient.
Can we get the names of those 8000 authors and their publishers to put them into a filter for amazon.com, so that we never buy their books?
Give me a dead tree book anytime over something I need to read off of a computer screen. It just ain’t the same!!!
I would have thought that any publicity would help authors. I have bought several books based upon excerpts I have read first, online or in other publications.
Mike, you’re sounding as cynical as I. Though, not being familiar with the “guild”, I must hesitate before I reject them as just pimping for the publishers. Not too long, though. Most authors hate their publishers as much as musicians hate recording companies.
This Google plan is a tremendous help for all writers except maybe the top 1% who already have high name and topic recognition.
More power to Google.
Too bad, however, that the government isn’t doing this. That is where the digital indexing initiative should really be… the Library of Congress and the public library system.
Greg,
I agree totally with your comment. From a layperson, I believe Google version should fall under the FAIR USE principle. If these books are available in public libraries, then they are already being used for Fair Use. And, the Library of Congress is in the most favorable position for this project.
There are advantages to this too. Instead of spending hours researching books for school papers, and often missing good books, the information may be more easily found. Older and low circulated books, thesis, and unknown authors, will be given more exposure.
I steal books from the net all the time, it’s great!