EU to tackle digital book copyright in 2010

According to Eurocativ.com, the European Commission will establish "simple and cost-efficient rights clearance systems" on the digitisation of published works and their availability on the Internet, it announced this week (19 October).

The legal implications of digitisation en masse and the potential costs for rights clearance are the two main issues that emerged from a consultation with libraries, publishers and other stakeholders.

The Commission says it will deal with the copyright aspects of digital publishing in the context of a new strategy on intellectual property rights in 2010.

Read the entire article here: http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosociety/eu-tackle-digital-book-copyright-2010/article-186586

European Commission to Investigate Google Book Deal

A European Commission hearing on 7 September will investigate whether a US legal settlement concerning Google breaches EU copyright law, the European Voice reports.

The settlement, which is still being studied by the US courts and justice department, would allow Google to use in-copyright material scanned in libraries in its Book Search service, which allows people to read extracts, and in some cases the full text, of digitised books. An agreement was reached last year between Google, the US Authors' Guild and the Association of American Publishers.

It covers out-of-print books which are either in- copyright or have uncertain copyright status, and works whose copyright holder cannot be found (known as orphan books). Such books account for around 75% of an average library's collection. Books by European authors are included in the settlement's remit.

Read the entire article here: http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/google's-books-deal-under-scrutiny/65779.aspx?lg=1

The settlement is opposed by a coalition of companies (including Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo), as well as some authors and publishers, who argue that it would give Google an unhealthy dominance over other digital library services.

The opponents announced last week that they had formed a lobby group, the Open Book Alliance (OBA), to campaign against the deal. According to an OBA statement, “a digital library controlled by a single company and a small group of colluding publishers would inevitably lead to higher prices and sub-par service for consumers, libraries, scholars and students”.