Derrick
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
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Google hands over $125million to book publishers
When it comes to copyright infringement and ethical disputes over media entitlement, I have always sided with the Authors, or producers. As complicated as the argument can get, the foundation of my belief stays true.
That is: People who develop intellectual property, and release it to the public, deserve payment.
Now, the counter to that point goes something like: “Massive corporations are being greedy and inflating the prices of books, games, music etc” and furthermore “a tiny percent of what you are paying for these products goes to the creator”.
Well, I hear you, and I do see value in the argument. However I still don’t think that I am entitled to enjoy the fruits of another person’s labour without contributing in some way.
So I was pleased to read that Google are paying copyright holders $125million for putting parts of their works online for free. In Google’s defence, it’s not like they were publishing full books online for free download. But still, seeing as the service was directly benefiting Google, it seems fair that they should in some way pay the copyright holders.
The settlement looks to be a win-win situation, as it will allow Google to develop the service and make more books available for complete download. At the same time, users will have to pay for full copyright protected books, so authors will get their dues.
The service looks to compete directly with Amazon’s book download service. Google will offer stiff competition which is a healthy addition to this new and growing media outlet. The settlement can only mean good things for the industry.
Let the Amazon-Google “Ebook” war begin!
When it comes to copyright infringement and ethical disputes over media entitlement, I have always sided with the Authors, or producers. As complicated as the argument can get, the foundation of my belief stays true.
That is: People who develop intellectual property, and release it to the public, deserve payment.
Now, the counter to that point goes something like: “Massive corporations are being greedy and inflating the prices of books, games, music etc” and furthermore “a tiny percent of what you are paying for these products goes to the creator”.
Well, I hear you, and I do see value in the argument. However I still don’t think that I am entitled to enjoy the fruits of another person’s labour without contributing in some way.
So I was pleased to read that Google are paying copyright holders $125million for putting parts of their works online for free. In Google’s defence, it’s not like they were publishing full books online for free download. But still, seeing as the service was directly benefiting Google, it seems fair that they should in some way pay the copyright holders.
The settlement looks to be a win-win situation, as it will allow Google to develop the service and make more books available for complete download. At the same time, users will have to pay for full copyright protected books, so authors will get their dues.
The service looks to compete directly with Amazon’s book download service. Google will offer stiff competition which is a healthy addition to this new and growing media outlet. The settlement can only mean good things for the industry.
Let the Amazon-Google “Ebook” war begin!