Dr. Seuss Estate Picks Google Books

The deadline for filing opinions on the Google Book Settlement has been extended to 9/8/09, the day after the Labor Day Weekend. Opponents include the Internet Archive and the Open Book Alliance. Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. have joined with the Open Book Alliance. It is all about money and especially about "orphaned works". Opponents believe the agreement creates a de facto monopoly and unchecked pricing power over orphaned works, those for which a rights holder can't be established.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Tech Chronicles carried an item headlined "Oh, The Places Google Can Go with Book Plan." The estate of Dr. Seuss sent a letter in support of the settlement. From a letter by law firm DLA Piper LLP: "The settlement may offer a new opportunity for authors of out-of-print books to find new audiences and new sources of income for their works." ..."We believe this is likely to be an important benefit for the authors' community, for readers and for researchers."

Deal or No Deal - Will there be a Google Book Settlement?

Publishers Weekly carried an article by Andrew Richard Albanese on "Deal or No Deal: What if the Google Settlement Fails?" It looks like the Google Book Settlement, which was steaming along at a fast pace, now faces the the real possibility of failure. The 5/25/09 article includes a helpful timeline of the Google Book Search project.

• 10/2004 -- Google Print launched
• 12/2004 -- Google Print Library Project (with 5 libraries)
• 6/2005 -- AAP asks Google to stop scanning for 6 months
• 9/20/2005 -- Authors Guild files suit against Google for copyright infringement
• 10/2005 -- Internet Archive and co-founder Brewster Kahle launch Open Content Alliance (OCA).
• 10/19/2005 --Five major publishers, coordinated by AAP, also sue Google
• 11/2005 -- Google Print renamed Google Book Search
• 12/2005 -- Microsoft launches the beta for Microsoft Live Book Search Project
• 8/2006 to 12/2007 -- Google rapidly expands its book-scanning efforts and partnerships with libraries and publishers
• 5/2008 -- Microsoft kills Live Book Search after digitizing 750,000 books
• 10/28 -- AAP, Authors Guild, and Google announce a settlement under which Google will make payments totaling $125 million, including $35 million to establish a Book Rights Registry
• 11/2008 -- The court overseeing the Google Book settlement grants “preliminary approval” to the deal.
• 2/2009 -- Harvard librarian Robert Darnton publishes an essay crystallizing opposition to the Google Book program
• 3/2009 -- Google officials say that its publisher partner program now has more than 20,000 members
• 4/2009 -- Brewster Kahle and the Internet Archive/OCA file a motion to intervene, asking that the court overseeing the settlement alter the deal, citing the fate of orphan works. The motion is denied, but the judge invites comments and objections from the IA.
• 9/4 and 10/7/2009 -- Dates set by Judge Denny Chin to opt out of or object to the settlement, and the new date of the fairness hearing
  

Google's Book Grab - Brewster Kahle Editorial

Internet Archive director Brewster Kahle wrote a timely guest commentary on "Google is Committing a Book Grab: New York Court Ruling Could Change the Future of Libraries Forever". See the Viewpoint section of the Bay Area News' Contra Costa Times, Sunday May 24, 2009.

Over the years, I've visited Internet Archives from time to time, usually to use the "Wayback Machine" to see what various websites looked like in 1996 or so -- back in the early days of the web. Check out what you favorite website looked like back then -- just plug in your URL and select a date for a trip down memory lane.

Now, the Internet Archives captures and stores text, moving images, audio, and much more. This is a good time to learn more about open content vs commercial digitization projects and become vocal. Baynet Libraries featured Brewster earlier this month in San Francisco.