I work for the Internet Archive, which has agitated against the Google Books Settlement, but I don't work on the Archive's books projects and I speak only for myself here.
In my opinion, Google Books is wonderful. The problem is the Settlement. It's an abuse of the class-action process to obtain certain monopolistic privileges -- making Google the only company with the right to preemptively scan out-of-print books while waiting for authors to come forward.
It was wrong for the Author's Guild to be given class status sufficient for them to grant that blanket permission. It was wrong for Google to choose a purely self-interested bilateral settlement with the Guild rather than continuing their original fight for the very same fair use principles that enabled searching the web -- the presumptive right to index even copyrighted material as a transformative use.
Brin is justifiably proud of their technical progress scanning so many books, but that early lead is not, as Brin implies, a reason to grant the leader even more privileges -- as the default scanner, the default collector of fees, and the de facto manager of the entire 'Rights Registry'.
Instead, that early lead is a reason for extra scrutiny, to ensure that no cartel-like arrangements or effective monopolies arise -- either organically or by court order -- that reduce competition and author/reader choice.
In my opinion, Google Books is wonderful. The problem is the Settlement. It's an abuse of the class-action process to obtain certain monopolistic privileges -- making Google the only company with the right to preemptively scan out-of-print books while waiting for authors to come forward.
It was wrong for the Author's Guild to be given class status sufficient for them to grant that blanket permission. It was wrong for Google to choose a purely self-interested bilateral settlement with the Guild rather than continuing their original fight for the very same fair use principles that enabled searching the web -- the presumptive right to index even copyrighted material as a transformative use.
Brin is justifiably proud of their technical progress scanning so many books, but that early lead is not, as Brin implies, a reason to grant the leader even more privileges -- as the default scanner, the default collector of fees, and the de facto manager of the entire 'Rights Registry'.
Instead, that early lead is a reason for extra scrutiny, to ensure that no cartel-like arrangements or effective monopolies arise -- either organically or by court order -- that reduce competition and author/reader choice.