The Book Search,The Lawsuits

& The Settlements

Asaf Hanuka’s illustration for California Lawyer.

Asaf Hanuka’s illustration for California Lawyer.

Also available as a 13 x 19” print from asafhanuka.com

An Academic View

83 libraries83 libraries

A Publisher’s View

•Limited Preview•No Copying•No Printing•No Ads

books

How Does Google Books Work?

• Similar to search, books allows users to search over 9MM works by author, title or within complete text.

• Users can read snippet, preview or complete work based on copyright.

• Users can not copy text in print & in ©.• .

How Does Google Books Work?

• Users limited to what they can see, but Google has entire texts in database for search.

• Opt-out model for publishers and authors.• Copyright owners can request for complete

removal from database when opting out.

History of Google Books (2005-2006)

• Early 2005- Google Print works with Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, the New York Public Library, and the University of Michigan.

• Fall 2005• Google Print renamed Google Book Search. • Google Partner Program & Google Books Library Project renamed. • The Authors Guild files a lawsuit against Google for copyright

infringement. • The Association of American Publishers file a lawsuit challenging

Google's digitization.• Fall 2006- The University of California System, Complutense

University of Madrid, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the University of Virginia libraries join the digitization project.

History of Google Books (2007- 2008)

• May 2008- Microsoft Book Project folds.

• Fall 2008- The Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild, and Google announce the settlement agreement, which resolves both lawsuits. In addition to other terms, Google will make payments totaling $125 million (U.S.) and establish a Book Rights Registry to help publishers and authors control how their copyrighted works are accessed.

• November 2008- Google reaches 7 million books scanned.

History of Google Books (2009-2010)

• September 2009- DOJ voices concerns over settlement. • November 2009- Amended Settlement released:

• Access limited to titles published in US only.• Removes some user identification in Book Search info in BRR• Rights holders have until March 9, 2012 to request removal of title

from database. After that date, identified titles will be pulled from viewing but still part of database.

• Rights holders can change status of title (Creative Commons!!) and set purchase price to $0.

• February 2010- DOJ still not satisfied with settlement.

Access Matrix

Google & Publishers• Agreements: offer preview of in-

print, in-copyright works from publisher.

• Publishers determine which titles, how much to show, & what can earn ad revenue.

• Eventually sell POD titles through Google. Terms based on agreements.

Image: Barbier, Dupont, A. Dubost at Versailles, http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/3048511340

Fair Use• Google provides full-text for PD, all others are

limited preview…• But Google maintains entire text in database.• Fair Use for users but not for Google.

settlement

The Settlement• 70/30 (63/37) split.• Creates a Book Rights Registry.• Libraries have limited access.• Allows Google to digitize books

published before 2009 where a rights-holder has not opted out.

• Google can exclude books from search and alter text (with permission of rights holder).

• Give Google control of sales on Orphan Works.

Settlement & Public Domain

• Anything published previous to 1923 is in the PD. Google has close to 2 million PD titles

• Google provides these complete text for free to US.

• Google can place ads and sell POD versions.

Settlement & Publishers• Publishers will control titles

under agreements with Google in place.

• Publishers will receive payment for authors like other royalties.

• 63% of revenues goes to publisher.

• Covers books published before January 9, 2009.

Settlement & Competition

• Settlement creates a Book Rights Registry to act as an intermediary "passing pricing decisions to Google and payments to copyright owners."

• Future companies will need to create a similar registry as BRR is separate from Google but tied to it.

Settlement & Access

• Consumer- Google will start selling access to complete texts in copyright.

• Libraries will have access to their files through one computer in the library.

• Publishers can limit access to sample material through their arrangements with Google.

Image by rsd-http://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/102333292

If Google isn’t the only game in town for the entire back catalog, a remarkable number of other concerns become much less serious. Google cannot hook libraries using drug-dealer pricing (the first time is free) if it has serious competition. Botched scans are not the end of the story if there is another source for the pages. Terms and conditions will be fairer if negotiated in a competitive market. And so on and so forth. Fixing the exclusive licensing regime in the settlement is an absolutely necessary condition for competition to be feasible.-James Grimmelmann, The Google Book Search Settlement: Ends, Means, and the Future of Books

Monopoly• DOJ see this settlement as

monopolistic. Google controls/ limits prices.

• Competition?• Settlement and Registry

pertains only to Google.

Orphan Works• Doesn’t resolve questions about

Orphan Works & copyright.• Settlement gives Google the

right to price & sell OP work. Will hold money until author shows up (if they do).

• Settlement and Registry pertains only to Google.

Privacy• Bookstores & Patriot Act• Google & China• Book Registry includes data

on users. How much will Google share?

Image by Hyku: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyku/368912557/sizes/s/

http://epic.org/privacy/googlebooks/default.html

Quality• Who checks quality of scans?

– Fingers– Missing text

• Problems with metadata – Titles– Dates– Subjects

Image by bcostin: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bcostin/32024966

Resources

• Publicindex.org• Google Book Bibliography-

Charles W. Bailey, Jr.• Laboratorium- James

Grimmelmann