I’m starting to feel like the only person who thinks the Google Books settlement with authors and publishers is a good deal. One voice that seems not to be heard, however, over the din of Google competitors, panicky law professors, and regulators who wouldn’t know a workable solution to a copyright problem (created by regulators) if it bit them, is anyone speaking for consumers.
My opinion piece today on CNET (see http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10398838-93.html?tag=mncol;title) argues that the real problem with the settlement has nothing to do with the 165-page document, which is increasingly coming to look like the sausage-making that it is.
(Does anyone really expect authors or publishers or anyone other than lawyers to read this and make any sense of it?)
The problem is the insanity of “modern” copyright law, which grants endless rights to all content creators, rights only the richest media companies can enforce.
For everyone else, once the modest commercial life of a work has ended, the rights are abandoned but not eliminated, leaving a no-man’s land of millions of stranded or “orphaned” works. The Google Books settlement, at least for digital users, would elegantly solve the orphan works problem. But the Copyright Office and the Department of Justice, among other creators of this mess, don’t like having their authority stepped on or their difficulties made to look easy.
For more, see http://larrydownes.com/an-unpopular-view-of-google-books/
The almighty G seems be taking over every form of media they can.. They're even coming out with an operating system in 2010!
The almighty google i like the sound of that , i am also waiting patiently for their operating system which is going to be launched in 2010.I wonder what they have in store for us .Google has taken the www to a different level.I ve read the google story and it is awesome .
For me there is nothing like the thumbing of pages through a riveting book so I will remain a traditionalist and try to buy proper books rather than buy into Googles latest innovation.
I agree - I've used the kindle, and tried to read books on my blackberry, but I never get more than a few pages in to it. I need a real book.
The real problem, which no one has the guts to face directly, is the sad state of copyright law. Copyright grants authors and their publishers the exclusive right to make copies of their work in order to encourage the growth of intellectual life, from novels to research papers to songs to cookbooks.
I feel the publishers will get a better exposure for the books with snippets of the pages being displayed in google. Well everyone is getting benefited. Then whats the harm!!
shartaj
google ebooks are on of the best plays ebook and i like them tnx
I like a lot google books. It saves me time and I can decide based on them if I want to buy the full books or not.
I agree with you, that it would solve a number of problems for the little people. This needs to be emphasised more.
what else is google going to do? make another planet and charge people to live there? my god they are taking over everything. thanks for the post BTW, i enjoyed it.
Yes, of course it is very helpful. I like the google books too. It gives me a clear idea of different topics.
it's no doubt about that there will be more and more bookes scaned by google,and it will be more convinient for readers to search for data,i love google
I also like google books...because i safe time and i can first get informed and then buy it...and if i find a book on google which i liken then i would go to shop and buy it...i can also go to the shop and read a little bit of the book...its nearly the same...but on google books i safe timt and dont have to go to the city and the shop....
by the way : i´m german so i´m sorry about my english!!!
good luck
Jürgen
I'm with you on this one. Google ebooks will most likely help the little guy.
While I am not a fan of Google and their power, I can't say I blame them. If you were as powerful as they are, wouldn't you expand as quickly as possible?
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