COPYCENSE

“Authors who sign up with digitisation programs run by companies such as Google or Amazon may be unwittingly sacrificing some of their rights, a media lawyer has warned.

“Google’s Google Print and Amazon’s Look Inside programs have caused controversy in the publishing world. While both companies claim that making books searchable and viewable online can increase sales, and offer to digitise such texts for free, publishers and authors have expressed concerns over copyright violations. The topic has stirred major interest at the Book Fair — the largest publishing gathering in the English-speaking world — and a series of seminars on Google’s program have attracted capacity crowds.”

Angus Kidman. Authors Warned of Digitisation Threat. ZDNet Australia. March 6, 2006.

See also:

Samson Spanier. Theme of London Book Fair Is What Technology Can Do. The New York Times. March 7, 2006.

Terry Kirby. Electronic Pen Allows Atwood to Reach the World From Home. The Independent. March 6, 2006.

Updates:

William Pollard. Google Books Rescues the Backlist. OhMy News. March 10, 2006.

Information World Review. Publishers Call for Library Digitisation Boycott at Book Fair. March 10, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.