Google Inc.'s online book project will take an important step forward next week despite an increasingly nasty legal fight over the company's plans. On Tuesday, the Internet search giant will resume scanning into its database a large number of library books that subject to copyright laws. It stopped doing so in August, following threats by publishers and to give copyright holders ample time to remove the works if they saw fit. Google has also since changed its own policies to let copyright holders opt out any time....Google is serving notice of its intent to see its Google Print project through despite even legal obstacles, which has profound impact on other online library projects and the form of future copyright law. "We're so determined to pursue Google Print, even though it has drawn industry opposition in the form of two lawsuits," Google Vice President David Drummond recently wrote on Google's Weblog. "We're dedicated to helping the world find information, and there's too much information in books that cannot yet be found online. We think you should be able to search through every word of every book ever written, and come away with a list of relevant books to buy or find at your local library," he adds.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/28/2005 10:44:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
