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Google books: battle lines are drawn

August 26, 2009 10:48pm
by Richard Waters

It may have taken close to 10 months, but opposition to the Google book settlement has finally coalesced.

The Open Book Alliance formally launched today with this promise:

The Open Book Alliance will counter Google, the Association of American Publishers and the Authors’ Guild’s scheme to monopolize the access, distribution and pricing of the largest digital database of books in the world.  To this end, we will promote fair and flexible solutions aimed at achieving a more robust and open system.

As advertised, Microsoft, Amazon.com and Yahoo have all lined up behind the group, under the direction of Peter Brantley of Internet Archive and Silicon Valley anti-trust veteran Gary Reback.

But is it all too late? The deadline for submitting a comment to the US judge who overseeing the case falls at the end of next week, as does the the deadline for rightsholders to opt out of the deal (though the only benefit to opting out is to preserve a right to sue Google in the future, which few are likely to avail themselves of).

Opposition has also been bubbling up in Europe, though it has not yet led to any organised resistance. But a hearing on the issue in Brussels on September 7th may provide the focal point and bring things to the fore (our other recent coverage is here).

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August 26, 2009 10:48pm in Digital media, Internet | Comment

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