Google accused of online piracy
p2p news / p2pnet: Google has been charged with online piracy by French book publisher La Martiniere, which now wants 100,000 euros (£69,000, about $128,462) for each book involved.
A BBC story uses the word “counterfeit” but, thanks to a non-stop, multi-million-dollar PR barrage from the entertainment and software cartels, the word is all-but obsolete, “piracy” virtually replacing it.
“La Martiniere accuses the technology company of ‘counterfeiting and breach of intellectual property rights’ by digitising about 100 of its titles,” says the BBC, pointing out that Google is, “attempting to copy every book in the collections of several major world libraries unless specifically denied permission to do so by the publisher of a title”.
La Martiniere owns Le Seuil, along with Delachaux and Niestle in Switzerland and Harry N Abrams in the US, says the story.
The national publishers’ union of France, Le Syndicat national de l’Edition, has repeatedly condemned the library project and threatened legal action, says the BBC, adding:
“There have been concerns in France that the project will enhance the dominance of the English language.
“Last year, France and several other European countries received European Union backing for a rival book-scanning project for publications which are not in English.”
Digg this story.
Also See:
BBC – French book publisher sues Google, June 6, 2006
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June 6th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
So… indexing French publications will enhance the dominance of English, will it? I guess I am dumb, but I don’t see how.
My silly little head thinks NOT indexing a particular language will cause more people to use the references of languages which ARE indexed and thus lead to the subservience of the NON-indexed languages.
But then, what value is little-headed logic in the face of French bluster.
(Now, since I am quebecois, understand that when I deride French people it is the pmpous people of France I deride, not my fellow habitants.)
Yahoo!
June 7th, 2006 at 11:52 am
a grub like you John should make the usual connection to your latest victims, surprisingly you are leaving it to you posters (unless they are jsut you in disguise anyway). As a well established liar it is left to you to delete this posting lik anyting else that exposes you. Good luck on the whole libel thing on which you’ve admitted the libel but asked everyone to believe tha tyou ar ejust not responsible. Hop-le the world knows that you’ve offered to identify the poster…free speech, the power to do in anyone not paying for advertising…you must be very proud as must your family
June 7th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
What these copyright crusaders seem to ignore is that Google isn’t proposing that all the text from any book be available on line. Google has always said that even if the whole text is scanned and digitized that users will only be able to get exerts of the text, not the whole banana.
Prehaps more to the point is that at present there is nothing to protect any item granted copyright the survivorship once economic viablity is gone. In otherwords, once they’ve made all the money they can off it, they can destroy the original work so that nothing makes it to public domain, given the length of time copyright extends to. Google could well become the repostitory that removes this lack of penality by preserving those items until copyright has expired.
More and more it seems folks are waking up to what it means and what various and assorted organizations are attempting to do. Things like the SIRA propsed bill are good examples along with DMCA and the broadcaster flag.
It would be a good day to see Google validated in their attempts in this case.