You probably already know about the controversy surrounding Google and the belief by publishers that they were violating copyrights by scanning books to make available online in digital form and to sell them. The NY Times article said:
Copyright holders who agree to the settlement would have the right to dictate how Google displayed content from the books, and could ask Google not to sell them.So why is William Morris advising its clients to opt out of the settlement?
… William Morris advises writers to opt out of the settlement because it would “bind copyright owners in any book published prior to January 9, 2009 to its terms…. “Now they’ve got this license to sell your books at a pre-negotiated one-time royalty that you’re stuck with unless a court changes the settlement,” Eric Zohn, an attorney in business affairs at William Morris, said in an interview. “It’s like a legislative change. Under copyright law, you don’t have anything without express written consent from the copyright holder. Now the court is saying Google is free to sell your book unless you expressly tell them not to.”Zahn is, on the other hand, advising clients to allow Google to keep their digitized books in Google’s database for searching.
It sure seems like this whole Google digitalizing and selling books deal will never get settled. What do you think?
(After telling us your thoughts, remember to bop over to The Blood-Red Pencil. It's day three in my Public Speaking for Authors series. Day one was Organizing Your Talk. Day two was Practicing Your Talk. And today, it's Preparing for a Reading. See you there.)
The suits against Microsoft went on for years and years (abroad and domestically), so I can only imagine the Google issue will, too. Thanks for keeping us updated, Helen.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
Sometimes it's like we, the authors, have to just sit back and watch, 'cause there's not a whole lot we can do even though it greatly affects us.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting discussion and I wished I knew more about it. The way it sounds to me right now, if I were a published writer, I would opt out of it, with the option of opting back in whenever the terms become more clear or more acceptable. Why would Google be allowed to sell anything without permission? Doesn't sound fair to me.
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing so many arguements from both sides. I have a couple old, unavailable self-pubbed books in their databank and at the moment, I've not opted out. If the settlement goes through, I'll get compensation for those out-of-print books, which is funny to me.
ReplyDeleteBut I've also heard that if you opt out, once the settlement goes through, you'll have to hire your own team of lawyers to go after Google, as they will still have virtual copies of your book with no obligation to pull them.
L. Diane Wolfe “Spunk On A Stick”
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
LDW - I'm 99% sure you can ask for your books to be removed.
ReplyDeleteeg this part of the FAQ explicitly states you can ask for your books to be removed but still participate in the cash settlement.
http://www.googlebooksettlement.com/help/bin/answer.py?answer=118704&hl=en#q43a
Helen - just got your latest newsletter, so not related to the above. I've often wondered how you manage to maintain your on-line presence the way you do. You must be a complete dynamo!
Anton, you make me laugh. I'm a slog. I see some of you out here on the Internet and you astound me!
ReplyDeleteI'm still confused about the settlement and need more input.
ReplyDeleteI have a wait and see attiude, but will be more dilliegnt about the matter when it comes time to release my next book.
ReplyDeleteStephen Tremp
Not to minimize, but...If only I had enough at stake to have a stake. Please, Google, abuse me.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
It has been my experience that the power lies with the 'publisher' no matter what the medium. Authors need to educate themselves about intellectual property rights and read everything they sign with a wary eye. It's a scary world out there.
ReplyDeleteThis is true, Elspeth. Authors may be the only party in all this who don't have a lawyer.
ReplyDeleteIt makes my head hurt. I've been back and forth on this issue so often I can no longer decide if it's good, bad, or indifferent. I just want a decision made so we can all move along/
ReplyDelete~jon
I agree that writers' only recourse right now is to wait and see how things pan out.
ReplyDeleteI find the whole thing totally confusing and have to admit I really don't understand it.
ReplyDeleteIt's exhausting. And yes, you're right, it's something that will likely be hashed out for years. I think it's just going to take time for the publishing industry and technology companies to work together.
ReplyDeleteMakes me glad I'm an author, not a lawyer!
ReplyDeleteOf course a lawyer made that statement you quoted. I still don't know what he was saying. :-)Like others who have commented, I don't understand this whole mess and the legalese is killing me.
ReplyDeleteIt's so confusing. On one hand one wants to keep up with new technology and new avenues of publishing (or "publishing"), but at the same time it seems authors are (still) being taken advantage of.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm just going to hide my head in the sand, as long as I can still write.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a plan, Sheila. Hope your sandbox is big enough for the rest of us.
ReplyDelete