The Bookseller.com

4th July 2009

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Google settlement under review

03.11.08

The Observer's John Naughton looks at the 'groundbreaking settlement' between Google and book publisher, asking, "Is there such a thing as a 'win-win' situation?"

"Journalistic cynicism says no," he answers. "What the phrase usually means is that some people get more than they deserve and others get less - but not so little that they scream blue murder. The big puzzle about the 'ground-breaking settlement' announced last week between Google and its legal opponents, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, is whether it really is - as all parties claim - a victory for everyone."

Dissecting the parties involved and what it might mean for them, Naughton concludes that "We've taken a giant step towards a world that once seemed an unattainable dream - where everything that has ever been published can be available to anyone who has the desire to read it."

However, the downside is that "Google becomes the conduit for everything in print and pays peanuts for the privilege. Heads it wins, tails it wins."
 

Observer

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