Association of American Publishers on Recent Google Book Project Settlement

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post entitled Google Book Scanning Project Settlement: More Reaction and Analysis.

The beSpacific blog draws attention to 2 further reactions to the copyright settlement between Google, U.S. publishers and the Authors Guild:

• Publisher speculates about Amazon/Google e-book "duopoly" (Ars Technica, February 23, 2009): "Richard Sarnoff, chairman of the Association of American Publishers, speculated last week that the landmark Google Book Search settlement could create a duopoly in the electronic books market. Speaking at Princeton University's Center for Information Technology Policy, Sarnoff noted that Amazon currently dominates the market for downloadable e-books. He said that the settlement "forces Google to become a provider of electronic books with a different business model" in direct competition with Amazon."
• Richard Sarnoff: Reinventing Access to Books: The Landmark Settlement among Authors, Publishers, Libraries, and Google (Center for Technology Information Policy, Princeton University, February 19, 2009): "For all of the hysteria surrounding such digital media developments as piracy and ebooks, the primary implications for books of digital technology reside in two large buckets–discovery and consumption. As publishers, we must encourage the widest possible digital discovery for books while ensuring the best possible commercial prospects for the usage (or “consumption”) of those books across both print and electronic markets. When these two goals overlap, there is an interesting line-drawing exercise to be done, which can lead to pioneering new access and commercial models."