Digitization of books has become synonymous over the past year with the Google Book Search project and the class action lawsuit launched in response to the search giant's efforts to create an Internet-based library consisting of millions of books. While the digitizing continues, the legal drama reached an important stage this week when a court in New York closed third-party submissions supporting or criticizing the settlement. The attention on Google Book Search is understandable, yet it has distracted from the broader question of government supported digitization efforts. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) noted that many countries have not been content to leave the digitization of their culture and heritage to Google, instead embarking on plans to create their own digital libraries.
Archive for September 12th, 2009
New Copyright Consultation Submissions of Note
With two days left, many organizations are posting their final submissions to the copyright consultation online. Recent postings include: Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations Canadian Coalition for Electronic Rights Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences Canadian Federation of Students ACTRA Writers' Guild of Canada
Canadian IP Protection Ranked Ahead U.S., Japan, and U.K.
Howard Knopf points to the latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report which ranks Canada ahead of the U.S., Japan, and the U.K. for intellectual property protection.
How Crown Copyright Hurts Canadians
VisibleGovernment has a post on crown copyright and why it needs reform.