One of the big winners in the proposed settlement for the Google Book Search lawsuit isn’t even named in it – the University of Michigan.
U-M, along with University of California and Stanford University, has played an integral part in Google's effort to digitize the world's books. Tome after tome from U-M's graduate library has been scanned into Google databases for the last few years under a bit of secrecy and scrutiny.
"It will now be possible, even easy, for anyone to access these great collections from anywhere in the United States," said University of Michigan's Paul Courant, university librarian and Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy. "This is an extraordinary accomplishment."
That's one of the main tenants of the argument to digitize these books. The Authors Guild claims it infringes on the rights of authors and publishers, similar to the what file sharing has done to music.
If approved proposed settlement will expand access to books in the Google Book Search project. It will also help cement U-M's place as a pioneer in this landmark initiative.
Source: University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke
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