Stephanie Bodoni and Matthew Newman via Bloomberg; Google Book Project Criticized by Germany, Publishers:
"Google Inc.’s book scanning project was criticized by a group of authors, publishers and the German government, who complained that the plan would give the company too much control over out-of-print books.
The complaints were raised at a European Union hearing today in Brussels that is reviewing how a $125 million settlement between Google and U.S. publishers will affect the EU. A group representing Google rivals including Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. said the accord would create a cartel involving thousands of publishers."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=awxRciDFpzvc
Showing posts with label German government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label German government. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Tome raider; Economist, 9/3/09
Economist; Tome raider:
A fuss over the internet search firm’s effort to build a huge digital library
"PAUL COURANT, the dean of libraries at the University of Michigan, jokes that he also runs “an orphanage”. Among the books on his shelves are such seminal texts as “Blunder Out of China” and “The Appalachian Frontier: America’s First Surge Westward”, which are protected by copyrights belonging to people who cannot be found. Known as “orphan” books, such titles are one element of a controversial plan by Google, the world’s biggest internet company, to create a vast online library...
Opposition to the deal is brewing all around the world. On August 31st the German government filed a submission to the American court arguing that the agreement, which encompasses books by German authors published in the United States, would violate Germany’s copyright law. French publishers also claim the agreement will contravene laws in their homeland. They note that there are no plans for European representatives on the book-rights registry that would be set up under the deal to collect and distribute payments due to copyright owners. This has heightened suspicions that foreigners will be fleeced.
In Japan two noted writers have filed a complaint with local authorities about Google’s actions. Many American firms oppose the deal, including Microsoft and Yahoo!, two of Google’s big competitors, as well as Amazon, a big retailer of books in both paper and electronic form. Amazon argues that Congress, rather than Google and its allies, should decide how copyrights should be handled in the digital age.
Together with the Internet Archive, a non-profit organisation which runs a rival project to digitise libraries’ contents, these firms have formed a group called the Open Book Alliance to campaign against the agreement. A posting on the Alliance’s website claims that the agreement would create a monopoly in digital books that would inevitably lead to fewer choices and higher prices for consumers. Such complaints have attracted the attention of America’s Department of Justice, which is examining the agreement to see whether it is anti-competitive. It is due to send its findings to the court by September 18th."
http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14376406
A fuss over the internet search firm’s effort to build a huge digital library
"PAUL COURANT, the dean of libraries at the University of Michigan, jokes that he also runs “an orphanage”. Among the books on his shelves are such seminal texts as “Blunder Out of China” and “The Appalachian Frontier: America’s First Surge Westward”, which are protected by copyrights belonging to people who cannot be found. Known as “orphan” books, such titles are one element of a controversial plan by Google, the world’s biggest internet company, to create a vast online library...
Opposition to the deal is brewing all around the world. On August 31st the German government filed a submission to the American court arguing that the agreement, which encompasses books by German authors published in the United States, would violate Germany’s copyright law. French publishers also claim the agreement will contravene laws in their homeland. They note that there are no plans for European representatives on the book-rights registry that would be set up under the deal to collect and distribute payments due to copyright owners. This has heightened suspicions that foreigners will be fleeced.
In Japan two noted writers have filed a complaint with local authorities about Google’s actions. Many American firms oppose the deal, including Microsoft and Yahoo!, two of Google’s big competitors, as well as Amazon, a big retailer of books in both paper and electronic form. Amazon argues that Congress, rather than Google and its allies, should decide how copyrights should be handled in the digital age.
Together with the Internet Archive, a non-profit organisation which runs a rival project to digitise libraries’ contents, these firms have formed a group called the Open Book Alliance to campaign against the agreement. A posting on the Alliance’s website claims that the agreement would create a monopoly in digital books that would inevitably lead to fewer choices and higher prices for consumers. Such complaints have attracted the attention of America’s Department of Justice, which is examining the agreement to see whether it is anti-competitive. It is due to send its findings to the court by September 18th."
http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14376406
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Google Answers Critics with Books Privacy Policy; PC World, 9/4/09
Brennon Slattery via PC World; Google Answers Critics with Books Privacy Policy:
"Google has published a detailed privacy policy surrounding its Google Books settlement.
The policy comes at the behest of the FTC, which wondered what could happen when customers start downloading the millions of scanned books in Google's library. The FTC has "concerns about Google gaining access to vast amounts of consumer data regarding the books consumers search for, purchase, and read."...
Some of the highlights include:
Google will not force a user to log into a Google account when reading pages of books online, browsing through a university's subscription, or viewing through a public library terminal.
Buying a book will require logging in, but users can delete histories of books they have purchased, and credit card companies won't get buying histories.
In addition to specific privacy provisions required by the Books Settlement, every aspect is also beholden to Google's overarching privacy policy.
I imagine Google hopes that its preemptive policy launch will help silence critics, but after the onslaught of opposition from the likes of the Open Book Alliance, the German government, and Amazon, it looks as though the Google Books Settlement has a long, hard road ahead."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/171456/google_answers_critics_with_books_privacy_policy.html
"Google has published a detailed privacy policy surrounding its Google Books settlement.
The policy comes at the behest of the FTC, which wondered what could happen when customers start downloading the millions of scanned books in Google's library. The FTC has "concerns about Google gaining access to vast amounts of consumer data regarding the books consumers search for, purchase, and read."...
Some of the highlights include:
Google will not force a user to log into a Google account when reading pages of books online, browsing through a university's subscription, or viewing through a public library terminal.
Buying a book will require logging in, but users can delete histories of books they have purchased, and credit card companies won't get buying histories.
In addition to specific privacy provisions required by the Books Settlement, every aspect is also beholden to Google's overarching privacy policy.
I imagine Google hopes that its preemptive policy launch will help silence critics, but after the onslaught of opposition from the likes of the Open Book Alliance, the German government, and Amazon, it looks as though the Google Books Settlement has a long, hard road ahead."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/171456/google_answers_critics_with_books_privacy_policy.html
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