AAP/Google in Chronicle of Higher Education

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

FYI.  Such community discussions, if held in good faith, are a good idea.

This article is available to the public at the Chronicle of Higher 
Education's Web site at:

http://chronicle.com/free/2005/06/2005062101t.htm

_____________________

Publishers' Group Asks Google to Stop Scanning Copyrighted Works for 6 
Months
By JEFFREY R. YOUNG

The Association of American Publishers has asked Google to stop scanning 
copyrighted books published by the association's members for at least six 
months while the company answers questions about whether its plan to scan 
millions of volumes in five major research libraries complies with 
copyright law.

Allan R. Adler, vice president for legal and governmental affairs at the 
publishing group, said in an interview on Monday that the association made 
its request in a letter, sent June 10, that stopped short of calling for a 
"cease and desist" of Google's Library Project.

"We've simply asked for a six-month moratorium to facilitate discussion" 
in an environment "where there isn't going to be the tension of ongoing 
practices that some of our members may object to."

A growing number of publishing groups and individual publishers have 
formally questioned the legality of Google's project, which is part of a 
larger program, called Google Print, that aims to make book content 
searchable online. The Library Project, announced in December, involves 
libraries at Harvard and Stanford Universities, the University of Michigan 
at Ann Arbor, and the University of Oxford, in England, as well as the New 
York Public Library (The Chronicle, December 14).

Two of those libraries, at Michigan and Stanford, have agreed to let 
Google scan books that are still in copyright.

Mr. Adler said the letter was sent because members of the publishers' 
association feel they have not "gotten satisfactory answers to their 
questions about copyright infringement." Many publishers say that Google 
does not have the right even to scan a copyrighted book -- they argue that 
making a digital copy of a volume for any commercial purpose requires the 
permission of the copyright holder.

Mr. Adler said that the letter was sent to Eric Schmidt, Google's chief 
executive officer, and that it requests a meeting between top Google 
executives and leaders of the publishing group.

Google officials said Monday evening that they had not yet replied to the 
association. "We have received the letter, and we have read it, and we are 
in discussions with publishers, authors, and the associate organizations 
to understand their concerns -- to listen to them as well as talk about 
the benefits of Google Print," said Susan Wojcicki, director of product 
management for Google Print.

Does Google believe it has the right to scan copyrighted books without 
permission, provided the company -- as it has promised -- offers only 
short excerpts of those works to the public in search results? "Yes," said 
Ms. Wojcicki. "We believe that our program is fully consistent with fair 
use under copyright law."

Officials of the publishing group would not release the text of the letter 
itself, saying that they want to give Google officials time to respond 
before doing so. Mr. Adler said he was only answering questions about the 
letter because word of its existence had leaked out during the annual 
meeting of the Association of American University Presses, which took 
place over the weekend in Philadelphia (The Chronicle, June 20).

copyright 2005 Chronicle of Higher Education