In a blog posting, Adam Smith, Google Print Product Manager,
confirmed that the scanning of in-copyright books was on hold until
November.
“We think most publishers and authors will choose to participate
in the publisher program in order to introduce their work to
countless readers around the world,” he wrote. “But we know that
not everyone agrees, and we want to do our best to respect their
views too.”
“So now, any and all copyright holders – both Google Print
partners and non-partners – can tell us which books they’d prefer
that we not scan if we find them in a library,” he added.
Google launched the Print for Libraries scheme in December, as
an extension of its Google Print project, which initially targeted
publishers.
The idea is that users searching online will see links on their
results pages when there are books relevant to their query.
Clicking on a title will deliver a page from which users can either
browse the full text of the work – if copyright has expired – or
brief excerpts and/or bibliographic data where the work is still
protected by copyright.
According to Google, the programme will increase the viability
of in and out of print books and generate book sales via "Buy this
Book" links and advertising. Users on the other hand, will be able
to search across library collections, including out of print books
and titles that weren't previously available anywhere but on a
library shelf.
The libraries of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan,
and the University of Oxford as well as The New York Public Library
signed up to the programme. But publishers, who were initially
excited by the Google Print project, and signed up eagerly to the
Print for Publishers programme, soon began expressing
reservations.
Their concerns related to copyright, and how, in view of the
whole-scale scanning of copyrighted works being undertaken by the
search giant, Google proposed to protect the rights of authors and
publishers.
The dispute has been rumbling on for months, resulting in
Google’s announcement on Friday that the scanning of in-copyright
works had been halted temporarily.
But publishers associations are still not happy.
According to Patricia Schroeder, President and CEO of the
Association of American Publishers, "Google's announcement does
nothing to relieve the publishing industry's concerns".
"Google's procedure shifts the responsibility for preventing
infringement to the copyright owner rather than the user, turning
every principle of copyright law on its ear," she explained.
