The Future of Digitizing Books: Google Reaches Deal with Publishers

By emeadows
October 9, 2012

After a long seven years of litigation, Google and the Association of American Publishers have reached a settlement allowing publishers to choose whether Google digitizes their books and journals.
The publishers involved in the settlement include McGraw-Hill Companies, John Wiley & Sons, Pearson Education, the Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster.
While this decision forwards Google’s book-scanning Library Project, it does nothing to help litigation between Google and authors.
“Though the settlement will not change much about the way that Google and publishers already partner, it is the newest signpost for defining copyright in the Internet age,” reports The New York Times. “It is also the latest evidence of the shift to e-books from print, and of Google’s efforts to compete with e-book rivals like Amazon.com.”
“What’s really exciting about today’s settlement is the fact that Google will be getting access to books that have long been out of print, that are in copyright,” said Tom Turvey, director of strategic partnerships at Google. “It’s good for users who weren’t able to buy them before, and for publishers.”
“The settlement does not answer the question at the heart of the litigation between Google and publishers and authors — whether Google is infringing copyright by digitizing books,” notes the article. “It essentially allows both sides to agree to disagree, and gives publishers the right to keep their books out of Google’s reach.”

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