Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Women's Head Scissors Wrestling

Books digital network: a network or a tangle of interests?

http://theprimate.it/libri_digitali



The lure of Google to create a truly universal library and digital network begins to falter, as its free digitization project books and arrangements for printing expressed and economic gave rise to a sudden need of an economic, moral and comprehensive books and digital libraries.

The story begins when Google, with its project Goole Search Books, a process of free use of books free of copyright or trade off, "flying" on the friction between American publishers and the alarms those in Europe who have started to raise protectionist barriers in this area.

Bigg begins to scan a catalog of approximately one million orphans of texts, or fallen into the public domain because it was published before 1923. The principle on which the project is very simple: any publisher can send their books to Google, who will scan them and insert the content on the web, so that they are available in the results of user queries fans. In this mode of use for free, plus a small amount of text, still protected by copyright, which, unlike previous ones in '23, are usable only in part, in a mode called "preview".

Bigg has also entered into an agreement with the company On Demand Book producing equipment which is able to print and bind a book of 300 pages in paperback in less than five minutes. The catalog of Bigg therefore be added to the On Demand Book, to reach nearly 3.6 million tests that anyone can print at reasonable prices and freely.

Obviously this trigger the wrath of American publishers who are at risk of losing bargaining power in the publication of books. The on demand, then, could completely upset the balance of the traditional publishing world, based on delicate relationships that govern every step of the birth of a book and its dissemination. We move by Google, from a centralized model with a single production center and many distribution points, one plain and horizontal, where your book browsing without the intermediation of the publisher to the public. A risk that publishers seek to avoid in all ways but that shows and produces, at speeds at least electronically, benefits in terms of availability and dissemination for libraries, schools, universities and readers in general. Regardless, then, the value led to literacy and schooling in developing areas.

Three years ago the Association of American authors [The Authors Guild] , the Association of American Publishers [Association of American Publishers - AAP] and a group of authors brought a for infringement against Google Books Search of copyright. And even though the Google project is supported by worthy intentions, the issue has led to the intervention of the Justice Department U.S. called by the editors to comment on the case and to find a common agreement. In short, the benefits must be no doubt, but on both sides.

the base of the litigation there is no respect for copyright law and anti-trust, since Google's initial agreements would favor some players in the publishing market to the detriment of others involved. So the Justice Department has strongly urged the Constitutional Court in New York to revoke the agreements already made and to assess the introduction of a new agreement [Settlement] allowing competitors to the Bigg have equal access to the market.

European publishers have also put a lookout, as the deal would also involve any European work available in the U.S. market. The editors of Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Norway and Sweden, but also the EFF [Federation of European Publishers ] and the IEA [Italian Publishers Association] , sided against the initiative of Bigg, for by asking the non-applicability of the solution of the Google and America / USA within the European Union.

The objections raised by European publishers include: the violation of Berne Convention on copyright {copyright normally expires 70 years after the death of the writer, while the solution is not just free to use the copyright work is no longer available in bookstores}, also Monopoly digital books on the Bigg return of the project, and finally major problems in managing regulatory and physical database Google Books.

In America, the ruling is expected in November, and - anyway - if the judges accept the compromise reached between Google, the Association of American writers Authors Guild and the Association of U.S. publishers AAP , there will be no more book "unavailable." And while the Bigg lets you know that books are no longer available in the U.S. market but still on sale in Europe will not be included in the database of Book Search, the EU to be armed or {} try to do it, in discussions with rights holders, libraries, businesses, consumer groups, to find their best solution to this "challenge".

It must be said that there are other projects in the world who have similar aspirations: the EFF supports reaffirming its position as an alternative to Google Books the Arrow project [Accessible Registries of Rights Information and Orphan Works Towards the European Digital Library], a project coordinated by the IEA. With means Arrow arrive at a technical solution that satisfies everyone involved, from authors to libraries and publishers themselves. The Arrow project is developed in fact to create a distribution infrastructure [for now the European Union] for the management of information on copyright of literary works and to facilitate access to digital content. The objective is to support the i2010 Digital Library Project the European Commission and the identification, through the interoperability of the actors involved, the holders of copyright clarifying the legal status. Still

previous Europeana, the European digital library that aggregates multiple documents not only libraries, books, films, paintings, newspapers, sound recordings, maps, manuscripts and archives, from the 27 European Union countries, and divided for over 23 languages. Europeana provides millions of items of our cultural heritage that are already in the public domain in perspective with the aim of reaching ten million works by 2010. Over the past nine months has doubled its database the digitized content from 2 to over 4 million and a half of material, is only 5% of assets in the EU, but is a value that has its greatest strength in the potential untapped. However, problems remain with regard to adjustment copyright: a public consultation, which ends November 15, the Commission will vote on the future of Europeana and the digitization of books.

We just have to wait for the ruling to the U.S. and the EU opinion about the future of publishing and libraries and archives. Opinions differ and some opposing positions.

So, while you sign the agreement on the dispute that affects millions of titles already crawled {37% gains on securities subject to copyright should be online in Google while the remaining 63% to the holders of Rights}, the President of the Library French National , Jean-Noel Jeannery, denies his consent to the proposed Google for cooperation, free of charge, in the work of digitization of part of the 30 million texts Library Fund. The Colossus, in fact, asked how the exchange can then spread them on the web, and cash in the agreement of other prestigious European libraries, which they consider inadequate time Europeana, and its almost unattainable goal.

What are the next evolution? It is hoped that whatever the future emerged from battles and judgments, to conduct the impulse for the first major renovation of the entire wealth of knowledge generally, with appropriate tools to solve a problem that has roots in the springs of civilization, namely dissemination of knowledge.

In between is an actor too atavistic and again victorious, rich and full of achievements: the Market.


Guido Faggion

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