Over the past five years, Google has partnered with some of the world’s most famous research libraries to scan over seven million books. In 2005, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers filed lawsuits against Google challenging the company’s right to scan copyrighted material and making it searchable online. A $125 million settlement was reached last year, but it’s still awaiting court approval…
Amy Goodwin, of Democracy Now interviews Brewster Kahle, of Internet Archive on the Google lawsuit, the role of libraries and the implications of mass commercial digitization. Kahle is among critics concerned that Google, a private corporation, could end up with a monopoly on access to information and exclusive license to profit from millions of books.
Tags: digital media, Google, NYPL, research libraries
