In theory, the Google Books project is a benefit to all mankind. Like the Library at Alexandria in the olden days, except way better, is how Google portrays its effort to scan all paper books into digital format so that, eventually, all information is available (via Google).
Some people don't like the project much, though. Among the dislikers is a certain contingent of authors, who have brought a lawsuit against Google to stop the imaging of their precious pages.
Google and the angry authors have reached a tentative settlement, with emphasis on the word tentative. The conflict asks a larger question, directly relevant to document imaging:
Does the digitizing of a document make it yours?
Textbook piracy, by way of document imaging, is another example of this question.
That larger question is part of the even larger issue of content ownership. In a world where documents and pictures and video can enter the Internet from so many millions of unconventional "input points" (the guy videotaping a movie for pirated distribution, for instance), how can ownership of content be maintained? Should it be maintained?
Or would all mankind benefit from a more liberal policy towards the very notion of owning words or pictures?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment