COPYCENSE

“Last month, Google announced a partnership with major research libraries to scan 20 million books for inclusion in Google’s search database. For those works in the public domain, the full text will be available. For those works still possibly under copyright, only snippets will be seen.

“But the excitement around Google’s extraordinary plan has obscured a dirty little secret: It is not at all clear that Google and these libraries have the legal right to do what is proposed.

“If lawsuits were filed, and if Google and its partner libraries were found to have violated the law, their legal exposure could reach into the billions.”

Lawrence Lessig. Let a Thousand Googles Bloom. Los Angeles Times. Jan. 12, 2005.

SNTReport.com™ Covering the Intersection of Collaboration and Technology. A Seso Group™ Venture.