From: James Macgillivray (email suppressed)
Date: Fri Sep 30 2005 - 08:55:16 PDT
I'm not sure how I feel about the google scanning project.
However, a while ago, someone told me about a new plan in libraries to start
sorting books according to size. This way the shelves can be made to fit one
size of book exactly and then you can eliminate the space between shelves,
in order to use less space and store more books, etc. Of course this is
contingent on a really good database for finding the books since it'll be
pretty impossible to find them otherwise.
The problem occurs when you're doing research and all the books that used to
be next to the book you're looking for are no longer there. So when I'm
looking up Brakhage, it's highly unlikely that I'll stumble on Bresson. And
so much of the breakthroughs in research seem to me to be this kind of
stumblng process. Of course this way, there is the potential to stumble onto
something completely different, but I can't really imagine what that would
lead to.
I'm wondering if anyone knows about this plan?
James
>From: Geoffrey Alan Rhodes <email suppressed>
>Reply-To: Experimental Film Discussion List <email suppressed>
>To: email suppressed
>Subject: Re: Google's scanning project
>Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 02:08:16 -0400
>
>Is there any doubt that the author's guild would oppose the establishment
>of the library-- if it had not already been done?
>
>
>On Sep 21, 2005, at 8:14 PM, konrad wrote:
>
>>James Kreul brought this up yesterday, but here's a great
>>summary-of-the-issues type article. It was posted on the SUNY Buffalo
>>Poetics listserv. Note the reference to a paper written by a copyright
>>attorney, citing a case where a company was allowed to reproduce
>>LOW-RESOLUTION images under the 'fair use' doctrine. Sound familiar?
>>
>>The idea is that searches only get the context of the search terms in
>>their results list, which is a effectively only a quote. The Authors
>>Guild (how old fashioned sounding, eh?) says that the full text copy that
>>Google uses to search on is the violation, not the search results page
>>served up.
>>
>>This will be the case to follow because Google did its homework before
>>launching in on the project, and argues that the service will increase
>>business for the book publishers and profits for the authors. These are
>>all the same issues we've been talking about with UbuWeb's site.
>>
>>
>>konrad
>>
>>^Z
>>
>>Authors sue Google over Google Print
>>By Nancy Gohring, PC World.com
>>
>>The Authors Guild and three other writers filed a class action suit on
>>Tuesday against Google Inc. over the Google Print program. The lawsuit
>>charges Google with massive copyright infringement.
>>
>>Google Print is a beta, or test, project that allows Internet users to
>>search for content in books. Google is in the process of scanning books
>>from several libraries into the searchable database. The Authors Guild, a
>>society of published writers representing over 8,000 U.S. authors, charges
>>that Google has not sought the approval of authors to include their works
>>in the program.
>>
>>Google does allow copyright holders to exclude their books from the
>>program. However, traditionally, content users must have affirmative
>>authorization from a copyright owner to use the copyrighted material, said
>>Terence Ross, a partner and copyright law specialist at Gibson, Dunn &
>>Crutcher, a Washington, D.C., law office. "Merely saying that if we dont
>>hear from you we assume its okay has never been accepted by any court and
>>I doubt it would ever be accepted," he said.
>>
>>Google said in a statement responding to the lawsuit that its activities
>>are consistent with the fair use doctrine under U.S. copyright law and the
>>principles underlying copyright law. Fair use is a concept within U.S.
>>copyright law that allows copyright material to be used in limited
>>circumstances, such as quoting parts of a novel for a book review, without
>>the permission of the author. When users search the Google Print database,
>>they find a "brief snippet of text where their search term appears, not
>>the entire text," Google explained in the statement.
>>
>>Still, Google is copying entire works into its database. Its not whats
>>delivered to the PC user thats the copyright issue, its the fact that they
>>have copied the entire work in the first place, said Ross. "I dont see
>>fair use."
>>
>>Google also points to a paper issued by Jonathan Band, an intellectual
>>property lawyer, who cites potentially relevant cases. In one, a company
>>was allowed to make copies of images on Web sites and offer them in
>>smaller, lower quality form because such a format doesnt alleviate the
>>need for the higher-quality originals. Similarly, rather than erode the
>>potential for authors to sell books, Google argues the program will
>>encourage sales. "This ability to introduce millions of users to millions
>>of titles can only expand the market for authors books, which is precisely
>>what copyright law is intended to foster," the statement said. Google is
>>working with University of Michigan, Harvard University, Stanford
>>University, The New York Public Library and Oxford University to scan all
>>or part of their books into the Google Print database.
>>
>>The lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court. The three writers named
>>in the suit in addition to the Authors Guild are Herbert Mitgang, a former
>>New York Times writer and book author, Betty Miles, a childrens book
>>author and Daniel Hoffman, a poet and author.
>>
>>
>>__________________________________________________________________
>>For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>>
>>
>Geoffrey Alan Rhodes
>www.GARhodes.com
>
>
>__________________________________________________________________
>For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.