Germany Opposes Google Book Deal
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: Germany, Book, Deal, Google | Themes: The Internet, Software
Germany has joined the host of folks unhappy with the book deal Google last year struck with the author's guild.
Already facing an investigation from the Department of Justice, opposition from Microsoft and Yahoo! and piquing the interest of the European Union, Google could now be up against the German government. Reuters cites a court filing from the German government as saying the deal violates copyright law and the country's privacy protections for Internet users.
In a filing dated Monday, Germany opposed the settlement because, under the terms of the agreement, Google could digitize books by German authors without their consent. Johannes Christian Wichard, deputy director general of the Directorate Commercial and Economic Law in Germany's Justice Ministry, said the deal would allow Google to "flout German laws that have been established to protect German authors and publishers, including with respect to digital copying, publishing and the dissemination of their works."
"The decision of this court with respect to this settlement will have the dramatic and long-range effect of creating a new worldwide copyright regime without any input from those who will be greatly impacted -- German authors, publishers and digital libraries and German citizens," he said, noting that German authors not published in the United States were not represented by the Authors Guild.
Read the full story here.
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lol hasn't anyone ever heard of a public library? Isn't that all this is, a digital public library?
The Fuhrer is not happy Google's founder is Russian.
This could be major PITA. A lot of European authors of science and engineering publish through Springer-Verlag. I hope that they eventually can strike a good deal beneficiary to all sides.
Yes but in public library you have to return the book.
Chuck Norris doesn't believe in Germany.
Why would you keep a book forever? There are so many other good ones.
Yeah, right! Let's burn the Alexandrian library again! No knowledge has to be ever free and preserved!!!
lol hasn't anyone ever heard of a public library? Isn't that all this is, a digital public library?
Except someone paid for the book you are borrowing.
I feel publishers view public library's as a free advertisement. Get kids hooked on reading, and when they're older they'll buy more books. Sure you'll have the people who save a few bucks by getting all there reading material from the library but its probably 1/100. If books are suddenly released online, publishers think people will stop paying for books. I think this is a safe assessment. I would gladly buy an eBook reader if I could get a library's worth of books for free or pay around $12/mo for access to the "library". The problem with both solutions is how do the publishers and writers get paid.
well why dont they just simply sell the rights for digital media of the books created there, im sure it would be at much , aspricey as if they where gna print and trasnlate the book in paper
If the publishers would have created this digital library instead of complaining when Google did it, they would have control of it. Just like the Music labels sat on their rears selling the same outdated format for more and more money, then suing end users. Pathetic...Apple came along and grabbed their lunch money. Get with the times or be left behind. Authors should use Google for publishing, at least they update their infrastructure.
lol hasn't anyone ever heard of a public library? Isn't that all this is, a digital public library?
I wonder, if there are music libraries. Or, God forbid, video libraries. The free ones.
For some reason "the pirate bay" comes to my mind...
Except someone paid for the book you are borrowing.I feel publishers view public library's as a free advertisement. Get kids hooked on reading, and when they're older they'll buy more books. Sure you'll have the people who save a few bucks by getting all there reading material from the library but its probably 1/100. If books are suddenly released online, publishers think people will stop paying for books. I think this is a safe assessment. I would gladly buy an eBook reader if I could get a library's worth of books for free or pay around $12/mo for access to the "library". The problem with both solutions is how do the publishers and writers get paid.
Great books were written way before someone got paid for writing books. So if publishers suddenly disappear, it won't be that big of a deal.
I wonder, if there are music libraries. Or, God forbid, video libraries. The free ones. For some reason "the pirate bay" comes to my mind...
My local library has a large collection of music on CD, and movies on VHS and DVD.
How about thinking of the readers instead of the publishers for a change!I don't care if the guy that wrote the book is from another country if a book is good then it is good in any language.If in the begining Gutenberg would have had to fight publishers and other stuff that is shoved in our faces then the mechanical printing press would not have been created and we would be using handwritten books.The internet and going digital and free is the "new" mechanical printing press access to information should not be restricted but encouraged. Regardless of other aspects and above all: Knowledge Is Prime!