Google Books currently allows you to search and browse a massive number of copyrighted material online. Google has been digitalizing books for some time, and the number of available books is growing quickly. Since Google generates ad revenue from this feature, it is no surprise that they were sued by book publishers in 2005. That lawsuit has come to a close, and the result seems to be good for users, for publishers, and for Google. As ReadWriteWeb reports:
Under the terms of the settlement, Google has agreed to pay the authors and publishers $125 million. It will also be responsible for selling access to copyrighted works in its repository. Most of the revenues from such access would go to the authors and publishers.
Currently, users of Google Book Search are able to view snippets of books online. The settlement agreement allows Google to make whole pages of copyright works available to online searchers. Users will be able to preview up to 20 percent of a book and purchase the book if they choose to, said David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer for Google.
All public libraries in the United States will be offered a free online portal to Google’s digitized collection, said Aiken, and patrons will be able to print an unlimited number of pages for a per page fee. Google will also be offering institutional subscriptions to colleges and universities. Google Book Search services available outside the United States will remain the same, Drummond said.
This is an interesting development in Google’s continue battle with copyright laws and privacy issues, and appears to be a good compromise. Dan Cohen has a more skeptical take. Your thoughts?
Ever wish you had a Penseive? You know, that device Dumbledore uses to untangle his many memories in an effort to unravel the mysteries that surround him? Well, it’s not magic, but I have found the application FreeMind to be helpful. It’s a handy tool for those who like to connect seemingly disparate ideas. I’ve used it in the course of writing papers or reviews. It’s still a little rough around the edges, but it works fairly well overall and will run on any OS. Give it a try!
