Canadian publishers and authors have been gathering at workshops to explore the legal ramifications of internet giant Google’s massive book-digitization initiative.
The sessions are being held in advance of the May 5 deadline for authors and publishers to opt out of Google’s plan to digitize 20 million books and distribute them online and to new devices.
Google began its digitizing project in 2005, with the Authors Guild of America accusing the company of “massive copyright infringement” and spearheading a class-action lawsuit against it. The company is digitizing books regardless of copyright, but only displaying snippets of those not yet in the public domain, claiming “fair use.”
Google Book Settlement
I don’t know where the 20 million book figure came from, but that is absolutely wrong. Google has already digitized over 7 million books, and that was before the settlement. The settlement gives Google the right to digitize every in-copyright, but out-of-print book by any author in a Berne Convention country. The figure is closer to 100 million books and likely much higher. Only Google knows for sure — and they probably can only make an educated guess.