Lost of noise this past week over the announcement that Amazon filed an objection with the court over the Google Book Settlement.
For my thoughts on the settlement and why we opted out, see:
Predictably, the Authors Guild, one of the key architects of the lawsuit that started what resulted in this bad deal for self-published authors and independent publishers, fired back with the usual non sequiturs.
First, they accused Amazon of attempting to monopolize bookselling and, therefore, having to right to complain about Google’s efforts. These are quite different situations for two main reasons — (1) Amazon has never grabbed anyone’s content without first getting their permission (something Google has been doing for years now) and, thus, has not violated anyone’s copyright and (2) Amazon has never forced anyone to have their content available or sold on Amazon.com without specifically opting in to the plan.
Second, Amazon rightly protested Google’s attempts to usurp rights to dubiously tagged “orphan” works. As usual, the AG sidestepped that issue by firing back with the assertion that the agreement would bring many out-of-print (OP) books back into publication. What the AG fails to mention is one of those “inconvenient truths” — the agreement’s definition of OP is far too broad and, essentially, allows Google to decide what is and is not OP.
According to the agreement’s definitions, if your book is solely available through a print-on-demand technology (whether with one of the subsidy houses like Xlibris or via a POD printer like LSI) will NOT be sufficient to earn it an in-print designation. And the author or publisher will have little control over the in-print or out-of-print designation.
Finally, the AG declared once again that the settlement is good because it will open new markets. Maybe, maybe not. Primarily, it will open new markets for Google to gain more control over what’s available and published. If any self-published authors or small indie presses think they’re going to see a financial windfall, they are only deluding themselves.
The big publishers may make more money under the Google Settlement. Their big-name authors may make more money. But one thing is certain — Google will find more and more ways to control access and make money doing it.
Look at Google’s history. Evaluated what they HAVE ALREADY DONE and compare that to what they could possibly do under the settlement. (Be sure to spend the time to actually read the complete settlement…try to stay awake…and then tell me you understand what you’re being roped into. If you truly do, you are probably the only person on the planet who does, including IP lawyers.)
How much do YOU trust Google?
