The New Yorker has an interesting article by Jeffrey Toobin called Google's Moon Shot. It's about Google Book Search which is their effort to be able to search the content of every book published. They scan either thousands or tens of thousands of books per week.
The problem is that book publishers while they like some of the aspects of the program (more people finding books) they don't like others (making digital copies of the books). As the article points out, they could just want their cut, like when Hollywood pays to make a movie out of book. And Google has a lot of money and might just view a large payout as cost of doing business.
"Like most federal lawsuits, these cases appear likely to be settled before they go to trial, and the terms of any such deal will shape the future of digital books. Google, in an effort to put the lawsuits behind it, may agree to pay the plaintiffs more than a court would require; but, by doing so, the company would discourage potential competitors. To put it another way, being taken to court and charged with copyright infringement on a large scale might be the best thing that ever happens to Google’s foray into the printed word."
Apparently though if the current law suits are settled, that would be a precedent that any competitor to Google would have to pay as well, which would be a significant barrier to entry for anyone else.
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