Google has been in the news getting opposition from publishers over Googles intention to scan several libraries and make them available to the public. Are not the public libraries by making published material freely available doing the same thing?
I am not against libraries. They serve us well. With the ever growing use of computers does it not makes sence to migrate our libraries to the virtual world making information more available to a wider audience?
2006-08-11 21:35:05 · 5 answers · asked by GJ 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I'm not an attorney, but I think public library's exist due to fair use clauses in copyright law.
For more info checkout the following link
http://www.librarylaw.com/Copyright_and_Libraries.html
2006-08-11 21:45:24 · answer #1 · answered by Securegeek 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Copyright laws protect against copying. Libraries are not copying books by lending them out.
Google was potentially infringing (it's debatable whether it falls within the fair use doctrine) by making electronic copies of the books for indexing. Even though the users of the system would not have a full copy of the book, the act of scanning and parsing the book to create the index it itself an electronic copy.
Completely different.
2006-08-12 04:36:43 · answer #2 · answered by coragryph 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
possibly. i love libraries, and i believe that society benefits from a free (or reasonably simple and inexpensive) sharing of ideas that libraries enable.
please look at the free culture movement for information on how copyright law has changed in recent decades to change what is clearly allowable under fair use. i am very concerned that we will lose the ability to share ideas and culture as we are doing now if we don't pay attention to the ways the law is being bent.
http://freeculture.org/
2006-08-11 21:41:39 · answer #3 · answered by uncle osbert 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, because they PURCHASE the actual books to be circulated. If they made copies of the book via then virtual world, then it could be a copywrite infringement unless they had the express permission of the author, and I imagine that would likely involve a hefty annual fee with a per use access fee.
Another downside, if you have ever tried to read an on-line e-book (or a legal brief), it that after about the first chapter it your eyes are strained and watery and it is hard to follow. Online access is great for summaries, but for detailed information and stories, we are always going to need actual printed books.
2006-08-12 01:24:52 · answer #4 · answered by bottleblondemama 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
uhh i dont think so.
so whats the problem yo? u got something against soemthin or someone yo??
2006-08-11 21:41:05 · answer #5 · answered by pinoydj619 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋