In message <[email protected]>, [email protected] writes
In the case of lace books that are rarely republished, this could be a very
advantageous development. But if the author (like Alex, for instance)
thinks she may wish to republish the book herself, she should be very
aware of
the requirements for opting out of the settlement which include specific
dates by which she must do so.
Is the agreement universal, or are Google only making an agreement with
the large publishing houses? If the latter, then self-published books,
and those publishers who do not sign up to the agreement, will be exempt
from it?
Devon's view suggests a "compulsory purchase" of copyright once a print
run has sold out - rather than the purchase of "expired copyrights"
which was first mentioned. Out of print does not equal expired
copyright. I think this buyout by Google could apply to books where the
copyright has been sold to a publisher (who is willing to sell it on),
or books for which the author's content is out of copyright but the
publisher is still in business and willing to sell on their rights to
the layout, etc. I would also have thought that the agreement would not
apply to those books which have already been republished - for example,
Mrs Treadwin's book of which Lacet Publications published a facsimile
several years ago - the original book is now out of copyright, and so a
copy *of the original* could be made, but the facsimile version is still
subject to copyright. I thought the Arizona CDs were copyrighted in
their CD form, even though the content is either out of copyright or
used with permission.
Can you imagine the administrative nightmare that would befall Google if
every author/copyright holder, for each and every book they held
copyright to, contacted Google to opt in or out even within the same
couple of months - it would take years to enter all the details into
their system and make the payments!
--
Jane Partridge
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