The two sides of the Google Print debate

[Colin Dunstan]

If you haven't already heard, like you know, if you've been in a coma for the past two months, some people aren't too amused about Google's plans to digitally copy every work in the collections of various leading research libraries. While Google argues that it would make our planet a better place by effectively producing a digital database that would allow users to search book content of every possible publication online, opponents of the project (most of them who are members of the American Association of Publishers) argue that Google does not have the right to scan a copyrighted work without the permission of the copyright holder.

If:book has an analysis of a pair of recent op-eds appearing in The Washington Post, one from each side of the Google Print dispute. Neither side seems close to agreement or backing down.