Google vs. France

Google is increasingly being treated like Microsoft in the old days. The decision by French publishers to sue Google for the Google Book Search project, joining U.S. publishers, is reminiscent of when U.S., then European, governments sued Microsoft for anti-trust practices. Everybody seems to think Google is evil.

These suits are almost humorous. when Google first announced its Library project, digitizing books in several major U.S. libraries, French officials complained that google was focused only on English-language books, ignoring all the wonderful texts in French. Now the publishers are complaining that Google is paying attention to them.

I don't want to perpetuate the idea of French arrogance, but it's tough when Le Syndicat National de l'édition (SNE) complains about Google's efforts with "large Anglo-Saxon libraries" shows "contempt for fundamental intellectual property rights." I think the suit shows contempt for the way the Internet is changing the world.

SNE says it is trying to "defend the collective interests of the profession." I'm in the profession, and my current book project is Google. The publishers are not defending MY interests.

Publishers and Google seem incapable of getting across the point that Google is only publishing full texts of out-of-print and public domain books. For current books under copyright, Google is signing agreements with publishers to provide excerpts only. It will help sell books, including books that publishers have taken out of print.

But there's an interesting parallel. When the Ptolemy clan of Egypt create the Great Library of Alexandria, they tried to get the oldest versions, preferably the original, when possible. They collected everything from cook books to the great masters. Ptolemy III decided he wanted the scrolls of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripedes in an archive in Anthens , placed there so copying errors and editors would not alter the works. So he asked the Athenians if he could borrow the books to make copies for the Library. He paid an enormous deposit, the equivalent of  millions of dollars today. But Ptolemy III sent back the copies and kept the originals, forfeiting his deposit. It was the biggest library fine ever paid.

That record will probably be broken by the time modern publishers get through with Google.

Collecting books for the world to see is a ruthless business.