Amazon blasted over Google Book complaint

Google's book project has not gone smoothly

Amazon has become the target of harsh criticism after filing an objection to the Google Book Search settlement.

Just days after Amazon filed the complaint in a US court, the Authors Guild, which agreed to the original settlement with Google, issued a statement condemning the web retailer.

The statement was ironically titled 'Amazon accuses someone else of monopolising bookselling', a reference to the company's dominant position in the online retail sector.

"Amazon's hypocrisy is breathtaking," said the Authors Guild, accusing the company of trying to take over the electronic-book market by selling titles at a loss in order to gain market share.

"Eventually, when enough readers are locked in to Amazon's Kindle [e-book reader], everyone in the industry expects Amazon to squeeze publishers and authors," said the Guild. "The results could be devastating for the economics of authorship."

Amazon suggested in its filing that the deal with Google would allow the search giant to monopolise much of the market, and take control of royalties for so-called 'orphan' titles, where no author or estate is present to collect royalties.

By contrast, the Authors Guild suggests that the deal will not give Google any exclusive rights, and will cause many out-of-print books to be reissued.

"The agreement opens new markets, and that's a good thing for readers and authors," it said. "It offers to make millions upon millions of out-of-print books available for free online viewing at 16,500 public library buildings and more than 4,000 colleges and universities, and that's a great thing for readers, students and scholars."