Rights group throws the e-book at Google

Google's latest e-book proposals have met with criticism

Google is hoping to put an end to the controversy surrounding its e-book project with a revised settlement under which it would offer rights holders the opportunity to step in when Google has inappropriately printed an out of print book in the English language.

This would mean that Google could go ahead with its project as planned, albeit with some limitations. These include not being able to publish books written in a foreign language, and providing a registry for rights holders to come forward if their work has been published.

However, the Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace (Icomp) has expressed scepticism about the announcement, suggesting that Google's plans will give it "de facto exclusive rights for the digital distribution of millions of orphan works as well as many other books".

"Google's newest settlement proposal, like the earlier version, is a disaster. It would give Google a monopoly over millions of the world's books," wrote Icomp legal expert David Wood in a blog post.

"It would also further entrench Google's dominance in search, including in Europe, and stifle innovation and harm consumers in a vitally important sector of the internet ecosystem. It should be - and for the good of the internet must be - rejected."

Icomp is worried that, even with the new registry, Google will still have too much control over media rights, and will be in a position to set prices for e-books and create a monopoly.

Other groups agreed. "Most critically, the settlement proposal must not grant Google an exclusive set of rights (de facto or otherwise) or result in any one entity gaining control over access to and distribution of the world's largest digital database of books. It is clear that Google has failed to meet these requirements," said Peter Brantley, co-chairman of the Open Book Alliance, in a blog post.