Google appears to be holding fast to its position that it will scan any book it has access to from public libraries if not told specifically not to by the publisher, and publishers continue to say that turns copyright law on its head.

This is a thorny issue to say the least. Google has the potential here to make global access to knowledge and information much more attainable. That is to be applauded. That information already is available, however, thanks to publishers who took financial risks to bring it to light. It's hardly fair to the publishers -- or the books' authors -- if their effort is undermined financially, and by another company no less.

Keith Regan in E-Commerce Times reports that publishers remain steamed. The Association of American University Presses (AAUP) objected to the opt-out approach that Google took, while the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) took issue with libraries providing Google books, saying publishers should provide them instead (apparently many are willing).

Here's an interesting passage from Regan's story:

Many publishers have mixed feelings about Google Print. The industry may stand to gain, after all, from Google's efforts, as those who search for specific information in books go on to purchase them from links provided by Google to publishers themselves or third parties that sell the books.

Or Google could rely on a laser-equipped robot army. That's how The Onion imagines the company executing Google Purge, which begins with the destruction of any book not scanned by Google Print. The story goes on to describe Google's plans to capture everyone's "private thoughts and feelings."

The company's new directive may explain its recent acquisition of Celera Genomics, the company that mapped the human genome, and its buildup of a vast army of laser-equipped robots.

"Google finally has what it needs to catalog the DNA of every organism on Earth," said analyst Imran Kahn of J.P. Morgan Chase. "Of course, some people might not want their DNA indexed. Hence, the robot army. It's crazy, it's brilliant—typical Google."

Google's robot army is rumored to include some 4 million cybernetic search-and-destroy units, each capable of capturing and scanning up to 100 humans per day. Said co-founder Sergey Brin: "The scanning will be relatively painless. Hey, it's Google. It'll be fun to be scanned by a Googlebot. But in the event people resist, the robots are programmed to liquify the brain."

Satire is great when it works on multiple levels, and this skewers not only Google's grand ambitions but also the paranoia of many in the Internet space. It's interesting that as Google becomes more successful it finds itself subject to the "world domination" barbs long directed at Microsoft. These two rivals have a lot in common, including a profit motive. But that is all they are, companies seeking shareholder returns. Much good can come from their products and services, but anyone who anthropomorphizes them as saints or sinners shows a profound lack of understanding of corporate America. And a lack of a healthy sense of humor.

posted by Patrick Ross @ 3:36 PM | Books

Link to this Entry | Printer-Friendly | Email a Comment | Post a Comment(0)