What if book publishers started to sue libraries?
Written by Smaran on October 23, 2006In the recent past we’ve seen the record and movie industry sue everyone from little girls and soccer moms to college kids for illegal file-sharing. Imagine what would happen if book publishers started to take on public libraries.
Copyrighted books are distributed over BitTorrent just like copyrighted music, movies, TV shows et al. Book downloads can be found in two forms; audiobooks and PDFs. We aren’t going to talk about publishing houses suing file-sharers. The real culprits are much more sinister and a lot less obvious.
Libraries
Yes, libraries! Libraries are evil, evil places. One single copy of a book, movie or music album is borrowed and abused by tens, if not hundreds of self-centred, ignorant pirates. Hell, they even have copiers in most libraries allowing pirates to copy every book on the shelves.
The nerdy book worm with no money, he shouldn’t be able to read (and copy) every book in existence for free right? But he can! “Mommy, I want to go to to the library,” he asks his mother innocently. “Of course son,” she replies, secretly happy that her son can get smart(er) for just the cost of transport.
But seriously.. what if...
Imagine if publishers and authors suddenly decide to shut down libraries because they don’t want people to have free access to the works they publish. Wouldn’t that be a shame?
Waitaminute, haven’t they already started that??
The biggest library of them all
Google. One word that can literally shape the meaning of online copyright. And it has. Google has been sued more times than a prominent pop singer from the 80s has grabbed his crotch. With the recent acquisition of YouTube, Google has taken on not just the most popular site on the Internet, but also the one with the most copyright violations.
Google Print, now rebranded as Google Book Search is an attempt to create the largest library on the face of the earth, err… Google Earth. If Google isn’t the worst of all evils, then who is? I mean, now even book worms from the so-called third world (the regions we’re trying to keep under control through the holy means of copyright) will now be able to pop open their $100 laptops and read to their hearts’ content.
How in the world are we supposed to stop this armageddon of evilness? There is only 1 way. We Sue.
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29 Responses
Lol if this starts happening I would take a look at the MPAA\RIAA maybe they would be winning to most likely… Scary thoughts… I havent used google to look up books yet… I might though considering im back in school.. I wonder if they have the book im reading at the moment…
Heh. Don’t give them ideas! :P
I’ve got Star Wars e books and a shitload of audiobooks on my pc… :p
Dude, you forgot scanners! copy machines are like the old bag! =)
This will never happen and is a entirely different situation than downloading books\movies\music on the internet. Libraries dont give away books to any one who asks. They lend them for a set amount of time. This also happens with movies. (Blockbuster anyone)
As an independent author, I don’t think this will happen. The publishers while not exactly clean, they aren’t nearly as bad as the record industry.
The biggest problem is the publishers tend to be behind in the tech curve. So the real issue is they don’t understand Google Book Search. In time I would bet they embrace Google Book Search much like the library system: as another way to market and distribute books.
In the mean time one or two publishers are sure to sue. But the impact wont be big, and will just serve to generate more attention towards Google Book Search, which ironically will make Googles Book search more successful and in the end make sure all the publisher get on board.
Casey
A Personal Tao
http://www.personaltao.com
Not entirely sure what your point is here. I sure love the irony in this, but the comparison with music sharing is of course faulty.
Like Chris says, you only borrow the stuff for a limited amount of time. Also, libraries are subsidized for the amount of readers they have. Part of that money is transferred to the local copyright watchdog organizations. For CDs and DVDs you even pay a (ridiculously) small amount for lending. And copies of course aren’t free either – not even in libraries. Every copy made, generates a small fee for the authors.
Have I now just ruined what still is a very witty and funny article, though?
Oh, and I would love to see an online type of library for music and film. Digital TV’s already on that, where you ‘hire’ a movie and get to watch it for a set period of time afterwards. It probably already exists online too, but I haven’t seen it yet.
Keep up this good stuff.
ndnl
Authors don’t make money off of library copy machines, so anyone who copies a book at a library may pay for the copy, much in the same way a file-sharer pays for his Internet connection, but in neither case does the copyright owner get any money from it.
Um, publishers have sued libraries. Repeatedly. The Supreme even had to rule against publishers to tried to “license” books instead of sell them way back in 1998. (Jewelers’ Mercantile Agency v. Jewelers’ Pub. Co., 155 Supreme Court for the Sate of New York. 241, 1898. The United States Supreme Court came to the same conclusion in a similar case, Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus, in 1908.)
You don’t know what you are talking about.
The first sale doctrine is what makes library operations legal:
http://www.aallnet.org/committee/copyright/pages/issues/firstsale.html
1. As Joe says, the first sale doctrine applies to libraries (as it does to you and me).
2. The United States is different from some other (European) countries that require a royalty to be paid to the author each time a book is checked out.
3. While I generally agree that current copyright law is advantageous to content creators (or, more properly, rights owners), it is not without its charitable exceptions (such as fair use, first sale doctrine, teaching, research, etc.). You should learn more about the law first and how the law works before suggesting that a lawsuit be brought. Your quibble should not be with the Courts; it should be with the Congress.
As far as I know Google Book Search only lets you read couple of lines or paragaphs from a book that is copyrighted. You can only read the full version of non-copyrighted books, something like “Rome and Juliet.” So I don’t see how Goole Book Search can be called the biggest library of them all.
Well, I can’t speak about your part of the World, but here in Australia libraries actually do pay a copyright fee to authors, to compensate them from possible lost sales of their work(s) if they are available for ‘free’ borrowing from a library. This also covers a ‘fair dealing’ contingency in photocopying.
Where the whole system falls down somewhat (and NOT only in Australia) is the copyright collection agencies ’skimming costs’ off the top of the copyright fees. A whole lot more sh*t is going to shortly hit the fan on this one …
Bibia
http://www.warriorlibrarian.com
>> here in Australia libraries actually do pay a copyright fee to authors
Same here in the UK.
Lol, I feel an urge to rush over and commit arson at the British Council Library. For fifteen years they have been leading me to a life of crime.
Please remember - COPYRight Laws comes into play if “COPIES” are made. Libraries do not make copies.
In the European Union new copyright directives are effectively aimed at curtailing libraries :-(
Thank You
In the early 1900’s, publishers tried to sue libraries out of existence (or get them to charge borrowers the full purchase price of a book and send the money to the publisher). The courts finally ruled that purchased books are the “property” of the purchaser and could be freely loaned out.
Funny. I’ve thought of this, libraries are really much like p2p.
EBook is a growing craze and it is going to be throughout the world and so think everyone should benefit from it.Here I’m promoting a book named First lady president which is a fictional take on a US presidential election campaign featuring a female candidate . It is a story of how such a figure might emerge as the first ever serious female candidate in a U.S. presidential election, and what opposition — both culturally and politically — that she might encounter.
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