WebProNews

The moratorium Google announced to allow publishers time to discuss the project ends November 1, and the search engine company plans to resume book scanning as scheduled.

A break Google took to give everyone time to cool off over the company's plans to scan thousands of books instead gave opponents time to file a couple of lawsuits claiming copyright infringement. Litigation from the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild happened despite Google's efforts to defuse the controversy.

Google gave publishers the chance to request titles not be included in their scanning project. Publishers led by Pat Schroeder at AAP instead claim Google needs to ask for permission to scan out-of-print titles, not the other way around.

Eric Schmidt wrote an editorial, reproduced in the Wall Street Journal, citing the advantages Google Print can give to authors and titles that would never see the light of day without the limited exposure Google can provide with its project.

Entire books would not be available for online copying; links to purchase books whose contents are retrieved in a search would be available, offering a chance for backlist titles to again earn money for their authors.

Google has claimed provisions of fair use permit their scanning activities under the Print Library Project. Schmidt noted that people's ability to record TV programs with a VCR, or that of search engines to index web sites, are similar to what the company wants to do with the contents of four university libraries and the New York Public Library.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.