Google: digitizer of Canada’s heritage?
p2pnet news view Advertising | P2P:- “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” says Sergey Brin, co-founder and president of technology at Google unabashedly, going on:
“While this agreement is a real win-win for all of us, the real victors are all the readers. The tremendous wealth of knowledge that lies within the books of the world will now be at their fingertips.”
Well, not at their fingertips, exactly. They’d only be able to get at them through Gargle.
The agreement he’s talking about could see Google, the world’s largest online advertising company, gaining the rights to millions of books.
A, “deadline in the US for arguments supporting and opposing a settlement in which the internet giant will team up with US authors and publishers to create an online library of out-of-print books passes at 3pm BST,” says the Press Association.
“Under a 10-month old settlement, Google would act as a sales agent for groups representing authors and publishers,” it says, going on:
“The deal has raised fears that Google could emerge as the ringleader of a literary cartel that would have too much power in determining the price of digital books.
“These concerns have resulted in the US Justice Department opening an inquiry over whether the agreements violates laws regarding predatory pricing.”
It has until September 18 to file its findings, says PA.
Meanwhile, Google has come to an agreement with the European Union over the digitisation of books on its online book store, says TechRadar.
“Previously, if a book was out-of-print in the US but still available in Europe the search giant would allow a digitised version on its site,” but now, “if a book is still widely available in the EU it will only find its way online if authorisation has been given by the publishers”.
Adds the story:
“A representative for the initiative said about Google’s latest move: ‘There are widespread concerns that the settlement leads to monopolisation in digital access to online access and sales of books in Europe and in other parts of the world as well as effects on other markets, such as search and search advertising’.”
Canada: stuck at the digitization starting gate?
“The attention on Google Book Search is understandable, yet it has distracted from the broader question of government-supported digitization efforts,” says Michael Geist, going on »»»
Many countries have not been content to leave the digitization of their culture and heritage to Google, instead embarking on plans to create their own digital libraries.
Canada was once thought to be part of this group — national digitization working groups were established and a strategy seemed imminent — yet plans have languished to the point that it feels as if someone has hit the delete key on the prospect of a comprehensive Canadian digital library.
Canada’s failure to keep pace was made readily apparent by the release late last month of a European consultation document on its digitization efforts.
In September 2005, the European Union launched i2010, a digitization action plan. Several years later, Europeana debuted a website that provides direct access to more than 4.6 million digitized books, newspapers, film clips, maps, photographs and documents from across Europe. The site plans to host 10 million objects by the end of next year.
The majority of the materials included to date are in the public domain – ie. they are no longer covered by copyright and can be used and accessed by all. In fact, the European Commission has emphasized “works in the public domain should stay there once digitized and be made accessible through the Internet.” It acknowledges, however, that this is not always the case since some groups claim rights to digitized copies of public domain works or charge for downloads.
The European consultation document grapples with difficult issues, such as how to guarantee access to public domain works and identify ways to improve access to works that are still subject to copyright protection but are out-of-print, or for which the copyright owner cannot be located .
By comparison, Canada seems stuck at the digitization starting gate. Library and Archives Canada was given responsibility for the issue, but was unable to muster the necessary support for a comprehensive plan. The Department of Canadian Heritage, which would seem like a natural fit for a strategy designed to foster access to Canadian works, has funded a handful of small digitization efforts, but has shown little interest in crafting a vision similar to Europeana.
Digitization law and policies have also gone missing-in-action. The national copyright consultation wraps up next week, but the digitization issue has scarcely been raised.
The European Commissioner for Information Society and Media Vivian Reding has called for the creation of “a modern set of European rules that encourage the digitization of books.”
Yet in Canada, few have placed the spotlight on the legal barriers to creating a national digital library. These include the danger associated with extending the term of copyright or providing overbroad legal protection for digital locks.
Supporters once talked about the dream of a national digital library comprised of every Canadian book ever published.
And years later, they’re still dreaming, Geist adds.
Michael Geist – Michael Geist’s Blog
[Geist is the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. He can be reached by email at mgeist @ uottawa dot ca]
Press Association – Google books battle deadline looms, September 8, 2009
TechRadar – Google bows to EU online book agreement, September 8, 2009
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