The Google Library and Partnership projects: barely covered by the Irish Times

[Christine Murray]

I attended the Google Book Settlement Seminar at the RCSI this morning to get an overview of the case to date: Which
I must emphasise is not settled yet, thus making the dates/issues/cases and general agitation by Google whose advisors
and lawyers have created what is essentially an entirely arbitrary set of obfuscating circumstances to define book and
library digitalisation.

I think it's called Corporate avant-gardeism (cos it sure ain't intellectual):

http://www.politics.ie/culture-commu...alisation.html


A Brief overview of the GBS:

i). Google has redefined what comprises Commercial availability.

ii). Through the Berne Convention (Which is covered by GBS) Irish Authors and Publishers have 'A US Copyright interest:'

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

iii). Google (for the moment one assumes) is excluding personal papers, sheet music, periodicals, public domain
and governmental publications from the GBS.

* Oxford and Harvard have agreed with Goggle to digitalise their collections.

*2005: The Author's Guild and Mc Graw Hill sue Google for copyright infringement.

* +7 Million books have been digitalised of which 5 million were copyright protected.

(This means that they went ahead and infringed legal copyrights and decided to fight the legal point at a later date)

* 2008: The Google Book settlement is achieved: http://www.googlebooksettlement.com

All info on the settlement will be available on a special Author's help page:

Poetry Ireland , inquiries to info@poetryireland.ie

Legal, timeline and other info : Irish Copyright Licensing Agency:: ICLA | Frontpage

Google Settlement info: Google Book Search Settlement Notice to Rights-holders - Books & Inserts Registry

The only IT article was hidden in the financial pages : In short - The Irish Times - Fri, Jul 10, 2009


The European Commission is meeting on this on the 07/09/09 to look at anti-trust elements which are
also brewing in the US (the speaker indicated that this is generally part of a class action in the US).


because a number of cheap US authors thought to support the Goliath, the issues has spread virally into the EU
whereby anti-trus meeting and Berne Convention will directly impinge on Irish Publishers and Authors. The US Library
of Congress is not supporting the Google lIbrary or Partnership projects.

[Christine Murray]

* 04/09/09 :this is the opt in/opt out date, you have to opt in to comment/remove books or complain.

* 07/09/09 : The Ec will meet on the anti-trust elements of the Google Book Settlement.

* 07/10/09: The Final fairness hearing which will determine if the settlement is fair,
reasonable and adequate.

* If a work was digitalised by May 2009 a payment claim must be made by January 2010
(((if you have not opted out of the settlement, if you opted out = 'tough titties)))

* 05/04/11: You can remove yer books from the project by this final date if you are opted in, if you are
opted out ='tough titties'

The US Dept of Justice has begun formal proceedings into GBS citing anti-trust concerns on 02/07/09.
The EC will begin this on 07/09/09.

http://www.icla.ie/

[Christine Murray]

The IT really does ignore the implication of this issue , link in the OP. Conversely Microsoft had thought to initiate a project with a similar thrust but had decided it was too 'expensive'. Microsoft has been in a marathon anti-trust case against the EU for many years.

[Christine Murray]

Pictorials unless they are author illustrated are not part of the digitalisation scope. Thus illustrations e.g of gardening/anatomical treatises will show white spaces. Forewords/prefaces will not be included either. Wonder how i). Collaborative translators ii). Trinity College Library, feel about that ?

[Ronanr]

Pictorials unless they are author illustrated are not part of the digitalisation scope. Thus illustrations e.g of gardening/anatomical treatises will show white spaces. Forewords/prefaces will not be included either. Wonder how i). Collaborative translators ii). Trinity College Library, feel about that ?

What has it to do with Trinity College Library - did Google Digitise their books?

[Christine Murray]

Trinners is a deposit library.

[Ronanr]

Trinners is a deposit library.

You still have not explained why Trinity Library would be particularly concerned.

Surely as they are a deposit library they would care even less about this issue, as they probably have a hard copy of the book anyway?

[Christine Murray]

The digitalisation project covers every book published before January 9th 2009. Oxford and Harvard have given permission for digitising their collections. The US congress library has refused stating its a bad deal. Do you think TCD will magically not be consulted being a deposit library ?

[Ronanr]

The digitalisation project covers every book published before January 9th 2009. Oxford and Harvard have given permission for digitising their collections. The US congress library has refused stating its a bad deal. Do you think TCD will magically not be consulted being a deposit library ?

Why should TCD be consulted, unless Google wanted to digitise TCD's books?

I do not understand what extra rights being a deposit library gives Trinity?

Does it have any rights other than the right to get a copy of every book published in the UK and ROI? I think not.

I still do not understand what point you are making about Trinity.

[Christine Murray]

did you read the links provided in the OP Ronanr. I think it a good question but as it stands only TCD library can answer it. As stated above Google are set to digitalise every book published before Jan 2009, excepting journals, sheet music,periodicals and govt publications . Oxford and Harvard have agreed. The US congress library has not. US justice dept and EC are set to investigate anti-trust issues and *lrish books have a US copyright interest are subject to GBS under the Berne Convention*