In December 2004, Google announced an ambitious plan to create a truly universal library, by scanning every book ever written and having them freely available online.
Next week, we find out if the greatest democratisation of human knowledge is about to get shelved forever.
Last month, a Manhattan Judge Denny Chin interceded in the ongoing case between Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. Judge Chin decided to reject a proposed settlement, whereby Google Books would continue scanning copyrighted works and share the revenue generated with the authors and publishers, indicating that a decision with such far-reaching consequences belongs with the US Congress.
Chin’s ruling is founded on several issues which raise concerns over the rights of copyright holders, and the scores of “orphan” works (books no longer in print, but with existing copyrights, or where copyright ownership is difficult to determine).
The scope of Google’s Library Project would not only extend to books, but video content, music, paintings – with the simple idea that a digital collection of all the world’s libraries would serve as a failsafe and as a more universally accessible medium. This public availability also leads to several copyright issues, which Google address briefly in their Terms of Service, and states their opinion of the whole matter on the perspectives page.
Under the proposed quashed agreement, Google would:
- hold de facto ownership rights over any orphan books
- have the ability to sell works online, paying the copyright holder respectively
- use an ‘opt-out’ system – authors and institutions are subject to scanning unless they proactively opt-out
- scan the entirety of books with existing copyright, but only display snippets to online viewers
- hold the right to collect data on anyone who downloads or reads the books
