“Sony Sides With Google in ‘Library of Future’ Settlement”
Ryan Singer, WIRED Magazine
August 28, 2009
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/sony-google-book/
Sony has allied with Google in the settlement to catalogue and sell millions of books through the Google Book Search program. In more detail, the settlement strives to create a central authority to manage royalty and pricing for Google’s book archive. Some fear that the settlement gives Google too much power over the distribution of books and will encroach on reader’s privacy. Amazon, Microsoft, and Yahoo have teamed up in opposition to the settlement, arguing that Google will develop a monopoly with rights that no other company will have. However, Sony sees opportunity for its electronic book reader that is struggling against the Amazon Kindle, and so filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Google. A final hearing may be delayed due to interest by the Justice Department into the case.
I’m not sure how to feel about this. As a kid I read (recreationally) a lot more than I do now that I’m in college. In fact, the only books I read now are textbooks. However, I do enjoy reading them, and I think of my textbook collection as the beginning of my ‘library’. So, at this moment I do not have a particularly vested interest in the electronic book reader business. But, I understand the fears of a Google monopoly. Indeed, it already dominates as the premiere online search engine. What I would like to know is what would be the benefit or cost to the consumer, and would the approval of this settlement mean the beginning of a shift towards electronic books? As a consumer, I would assume that if it were cheaper and easier, ultimately the shift would occur and I would go along with it. As a student and liker of printed books, it will be interesting to see what happens.
