The agreement which means Google will establish a non-profit Book Right Registry to make sure copyrighted works gain compensation via subscription services or ad revenue will hopefully resolve the ongoing lawsuits from the last three years.
Yet, the deal is still awaiting approval from a US district court and is expected to cost Google a hefty £80 million in registry and settlement costs.
However, the search giant seems to think it is worth it, as if it goes ahead it will mean a much broader access to books which are out of print, as well as those in-print and in-copyright.
This will be a great breakthrough for Universities and other institutions which will benefit greatly from the wide access to online collections through a subscription service.
Some American university libraries have already contributed to brokering the deal, while other libraries are expected to follow suit.
Roy Blount Jr., president of the Authors Guild said of the agreement that, "As a reader and researcher, I'll be delighted to stop by my local library to browse the stacks of some of the world's great libraries."
He said it’s hard work writing a book, and even harder work getting paid for it.
This is one of the reasons that Blount Jr. thinks that this deal makes good sense, as authors will appreciate payment when people use their work.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuits will benefit as the agreement will offer more ways to acquire books that are still in copyright, as well as supplying income from the subscriptions or advertising.
Google finally wins book deal
By
Emma Hughes
on Oct 29, 2008 3:47PM
