"Once this agreement has been approved, you'll be able to purchase full online access to millions of books. This means you can read an entire book from any Internet-connected computer, simply by logging in to your Book Search account, and it will remain on your electronic bookshelf, so you can come back and access it whenever you want in the future."
Bottom line: laptop (and iPhone?)-based alternative to Amazon / the Kindle? ------------------------------------------------------- Dear Friends, This morning Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) are announcing a major settlement agreement on behalf of a broad class of authors and publishers worldwide. The agreement would resolve the class-action lawsuit brought by book authors and the Authors Guild, as well as a separate lawsuit filed by five large publishers as representatives of the AAP's membership. We're excited because the settlement agreement will expand online access to millions of in-copyright books and other written materials in the U.S. A website with more details about the agreement is now online at: http://books.google.com/googlebooks/agreement/index.html A good summary of the agreement is available here: http://books.google.com/googlebooks/agreement/us_exec_summary.pdf And for those who own or think they may own a U.S. copyright interest implicated by the agreement, there is more information about the agreement at the claims settlement site: http://books.google.com/booksrightsholders Just to review the bidding: In 2004, Google launched Book Search in order to make the world's books easier to find. Since then, we have partnered with over twenty thousand rightsholders in order to digitize books and make them available for limited previews by users. Libraries also provide Google with books to digitize, including many books that are in-copyright but out-of-print and traditionally difficult to access. Book Search has always been able to show readers public domain works in their entirety. And we've provided substantial previews where we have the agreement of rightsholders. But for in-copyright books where we did not have an agreement, we have not been able to show more than bibliographic information and very limited "snippets" of text. If approved by the court, the agreement announced today would provide: * More Access to Out-of-Print Books: Readers in the US will be able to search, preview, and purchase millions of out-of-print books through Google Book Search. * A New Market for Authors and Publishers: Rightsholders will have new ways to make their books available and new revenue opportunities, while retaining control over use of their works. * Benefits to Libraries and Universities: Libraries and universities will have the opportunity to provide patrons and students with full, online access to an enormous collection of books. We know that the details matter, and we'd be delighted to answer any further questions that folks on the list might have, so please feel free to reach out to us. We'll also look for some opportunities to provide a fuller briefing for those interested. Thanks, Alan Alan Davidson Director, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google 1101 New York Avenue NW, Second Floor Washington, D.C. 20005 | 202.346.1220 _______________________________________________
