Keeping up with the world of books is tough enough without some class action suit pushing traditional publishing into digital space. The effect of a new settlement with Google will essentially change the rules of copyright between the company and publishers and authors across the world. This lawsuit brought against Google in 2005 by the American Authors Guild, book authors and several American publishers was settled this week- and the ramifications are going to mean some reading up on the world of book publishing and book promotion!
( For the complete story please check out Grace Westcott's article in the Globe and Mail on Googleopoly- Feb 21, 2009)
So what does this mean for the average author? Well if your book was digitized before May 5 , 2009- with a U.S copyright which includes Canadians your check might soon be in the mail after you fill in all the paperwork- and there is alot so don't waste time!
In regards to promotion, after all of the dust settles it will change publishing, but the overall approach to book publicity will simply have to adjust to the new rules. If every consumer might be able to preview parts of books free of charge, or view them with a small purchase- or worse- be able to cut and paste parts of books to wherever you want. That might actually help book publicity. The new database that Google is offering is staggering and all book promoters are going to have to do their homework to keep up with the implications of this new massive digitization of books.
Of course the publicists at OutRight Communications are always on top of these groundbreaking decisions- so stay tuned for the latest news- and sign up for our e-zine!
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