Opposition grows to Google’s book deal

The storm of protest against Google’s plan to make out-of-print books available online continues to build, with writers, lawyers and technology companies on both sides of the Atlantic warning the search giant’s plan could stifle competition and lead to higher book prices.

Overnight in New York, Microsoft ,Yahoo and prominent Silicon Valley competition lawyer Gary Reback appeared in the Federal Court in New York to try to block a $147 million settlement between publishers and Google which will allow Google to scan and post online thousands of out-of-copyright and out-of-print books for which the copyright owners are difficult to indentify.

The settlement would see Google give 63% of digital books sales to publishers and authors.

A spokesperson for Google Australia says the settlement does not cover Australian internet users.

“Users outside the US will be able to search for books and may see snippets of in-copyright books, but they will not be able to purchase access to books online… unless these services are authorised by the rights holder of a book. We will be actively working with rights holders on ways to extend benefits of this agreement to international countries, but have nothing to announce right now.”

Australian authors and publishers who hold US copyrights worldwide can register their works with the Book Rights Registry that will govern the settlement and receive compensation from institutional subscriptions, book sales, ad revenues and as a cash payment if their works have already been digitised.

“A foreign author whose book was published outside the US can register with the Book Rights Registry, and receive compensation, if we scanned that book in a US Library partner,” the spokesperson says.

The Australian Society of Authors has been running presentations to help memebrs decide on whether to opt into or out of the settlement

Reback filed a brief on behalf of the Open Book Alliance, which includes Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon (all of which have also filed separate arguments) arguing that Google has conspired with publishing groups to make it difficult for competitors to operate in the digital book market.

The Alliance argues this market power would allow Google, the publishers and authors to push up digital book prices.

“The publishing industry desperately wants to raise the retail price point for digital books,” Reback wrote in his brief. “The book settlement permits them to achieve that by working with Google.”

Microsoft and Yahoo, which recently signed an agreement to join forces and promote Microsoft’s Bing search engine, is also worried the plan will drive even more internet users to Google and could also help Google’s search engine become more effective as Google gets more information about users’ tastes and preferences.

But Google has one support from some quarters, including a coalition of 32 competition lawyers and Japanese electronics maker Sony. It recently launched a new e-reader and believes Google’s plans will help drive the development of the digital books market.

Opposition to the plan in Europe is also growing. At a special European Commission hearing held Tuesday night AEST, publishers and authors demanded that Google not scan books by European authors that are still covered by copyright in Europe.

Google has given ground and will remove all European books which are still commercially available from the digitisation plan. It will also appoint European representatives to the Books Rights Registry, the body that will oversee the settlement.

However, protests on the continent are likely to continue. “It’s a step in the right direction but it’s not enough for our members to sleep peacefully,” Jessica Saenger of the German Booksellers Association told the Wall Street Journal.