Amazon to Google: Competitors Don't Share Trade Secrets. Duh.
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Google's strategy: Demonstrate to the courts that Amazon's Search-Inside-the-Book relies on the same full book scanning process that Google Book Search does. Amazon objected to providing details about its book search feature to Google, in a response filed Monday in federal district court in Washington. The 16-page filing was in response to a request by Google, which says it needs those documents to fight allegations of copyright infringement from The Authors Guild and publishers. Amazon was apparently the first company Google sought documents from. Other companies include Microsoft, Yahoo, Random House and HarperCollins. Amazon's lawyers refused to cooperate for several reasons, including:
Amazon.com objects to the definition of "Amazon Book Search Project" on the grounds that it is overbroad...By way of example, to the extent the definition encompasses any functionality that permits an "index of books" to be searched on the Internet, it potenitally encompasses all of the functionality on the Amazon.com websites that permits consumers to search for an purchase books. Amazon.com further objects to this definition on the ground that it is nowhere used in any of the individual requests for production in the subpoena; in the requests themselves, Google has substituted a different term: "The Amazon Book Project."It looks like Google is trying to suggest to the court that Google Book Search isn't substantially different from Amazon's Search Inside the Book. By requesting the documents, Google is trying to show that Amazon has to scan an entire book. It's that scanning process which the Authors Guild specifically objects to, on the grounds that scanning an entire book is beyond fair use stipulations. Thus Google is arguing if Amazon can do this and profit from sales, so can we, and profit from advertising. |
Comments (3)
A very good point by Google. Probably can argue the same for every bookstore implementing the 'inside the book' technology. Even better to Google's argument, I think, is that their intention isn't meaning to profit from the sales -- they directly say their intent is to help incrase readership of these books: "Search the full text of books to find ones that interest you and learn where to buy or borrow them." - http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/about.html
Posted by matthewvb | October 25, 2006 12:59 PM
I wouldn't ascribe that much virtue to Google, Matthew. Their intent is to make money. Their intent in this court case is to show that "fair use" stipulations aren't evenly applied across Web sites, and thus they should be allowed to continue scanning books.
Posted by Steve Bryant | October 25, 2006 1:30 PM
If Google really want to help, then why don't they declare that they will put advertisement against book search. dts... www.india.co.in
Posted by dts | October 25, 2006 3:06 PM