joegratz.net

Larry Lessig has this op-ed in today’s L.A. Times. He discusses Google’s plans to digitize the entire contents of several major university libraries, noting that Google is taking a big risk by digitizing works still covered by copyright, even if it doesn’t make the full text available publicly. Even the private digitization is technically an infringement (as I mentioned when the story broke in December).

Google is able to take the risk of going forward with its project when many librarians have shied away because it can afford litigation. Lessig asserts that everyone should be able to use old, out-of-print works that might still technically be covered by copyright, even if they can’t afford lawyers. A system of new-style formalities, Lessig says, would reward creators whose works have continuing commercial value while clearing out old copyrights that nobody needs and moving those works into the public domain.