Facing growing criticism about Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Books, Google’s UK MD has tried to defend the project…
“Publishers tell us that something like 80 percent of all books that have ever been published are out of print… this will bring books back from the dead, literally,” Matt Brittin told BBC Radio 4’s The Media Show on Wednesday (listen again via iPlayer, UK only).
Critics of the books project argue it would give Google a monopoly to publish out-of-print and orphan works online, but Brittin says that a proposed wide-ranging settlement with US publishers is not just about Google and promises the proposed rights registry “can deal with as many different bodies as it wishes to deal with“. The registry — which will act as royalty collector for publishers with titles on Google Books — will be able to process copyright payments from other online libraries as well as Google Books, Brittin said.
To expand its project, Google still needs US District Court approval for the $125 million settlement which it provisionally reached last year to end to a long-running legal dispute with US publishers — a decision is due next month. European publishers are anxious about the online availability of their works in America as part of the deal, although Google has said it would consult them before publishing any EU books.
Brittin claims the project will send publishers revenue from previously unavailable titles — but he did not address criticisms from France this week that a commercially-driven online book project would favour more lucrative and popular titles over more culturally important works.
Will it make money? In short, not much for Google. “Ultimately, if the model works, the majority of any revenue generated goes to the copyright owners,” says Brittin. In fact a proposed independent rights registry will distribute 65 percent of revenue to publishers; Brittin concedes it will make “some money” for Google.

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