digitization
Google throws down gauntlet: no more book settlement changes
Yesterday, the parties involved in the Google book settlement made a series of filings, all of which requested that the Amended Settlement Agreement be ratified in its current form. The last time around, when faced with objections from groups ranging from the US Department of Justice to authors, the parties withdrew their initial settlement in order to make the changes that produced the ASA. Now, faced with many of the same objections from the same exact groups, Google and the plaintiffs have decided they’ve gone as far as they intend to, and will fight for the approval of the ASA.
Continue reading »Google book digitization prompts the EU to rethink copyright
The legal settlement that would sanctify Google’s book digitization efforts may be on hold, but that hasn’t stopped the sniping over digitization in general, and Google’s specific role in vending e-books. The Frankfurt Book Fair , a major publishing event, is playing host to the latest skirmishes over what role Google and other organizations should play in controlling access to digitized material. Google continues to insist that it’s doing the world a favor by preserving knowledge and bringing lost books back to the public, but at least some European academics are blasting the company’s statements as propaganda.
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