Google Book Settlement — Opponents 1, Google 0
The Google Books Settlement hits a barrier. The implications of this will need to be sorted out over the coming days and weeks.
Vestron's Law: The Propensity for Rights to Revert to the Original Publisher
Vestron’s Law refers to the propensity for the rights to content to revert to the original publisher. The Law applies to all media types and accounts for some of the industry’s structural changes.
Responding to One of Darnton's Three Jeremiads — the Google Books Settlement
An essay in the New York Review of Books about the Google Books Settlement is based on flawed reasoning. Here’s why.
Data-mining Google Books: Does the Reader Have To Be Human?
The data-mining of the Google books database has great promise, but who owns the data-mining rights?
Whither University Presses?
A new collection of essays in the Journal of Electronic Publishing focuses on various issues facing the university press world today, but perhaps does not consider the possibility of presses taking on a more central role in their parents’ strategy.
The Face-down Publishing Paradigm
The face-down publishing paradigm involves the display of content on mobile devices that are constantly altered by computer processes in the Internet Cloud.
Copyright: A Fairy Tale
A clever video montage explaining copyright issues, including fair use.
Fighting Copyright Trolls — The Electronic Freedom Frontier Strikes Back at Righthaven
Apparently, practices by a Las Vegas publisher are spreading, and the EFF has stepped in to stop them.
Libraries and Netflix — Questionable Borrowing Practices From People Who Know From Borrowing
Libraries publicize their use of Netflix to save money on acquiring digital video for patrons, opening a potentially costly can of worms.
The Ethics of Versions: Why Buying One Experience Doesn’t Permit You All Experiences
The Ethicist argues that pirating an e-book is ethical because once you buy a book in any form, you have the right to that book in every form.
Money and Motivation: Will Content Survive the Age of Sharing and Collaboration?
The age of collaboration indicates some adjacent sources of value are emerging. Since adjacency is relative, how can publishers ensure that the central pieces remain?
Are Google and Microsoft Squaring Off Over Public Domain Works?
Why Google apparently gives government documents more protections than 19th century texts is just one of the puzzles in their usage guidelines.
An Oxford-style Debate at PSP 2010: A Chicago-style Hot Dog and Copyright Law
An Oxford-style debate about the role of copyright law was held at the 2010 PSP. It involved interactive polling and a lively discussion.
Going Legit: The Difficult Path from Piracy to Partnership
Though social networking websites continue to proliferate, turning them into sustainable, revenue-generating businesses is still a difficult prospect. For sites based on the illegal distribution of copyrighted material, the process is even more difficult. Is it possible for a pirate to become a respected member of the business community?
Publishing in the Google Ecosystem
Complaints against Google miss the point — it’s the Google Era, and publishers who work well with this major upstart have plenty to look forward to.