Austrian associations of writers and publishers are attempting to organize an action across Europe to protect their rights in relation to the internet search engine Google.
Copyright associations, together with the umbrella organization of Austrian booksellers, are in intense contact "with German, Swiss, and other European partners, in order to enable coordinated European action in the USA," the initiators of the initiative stated on Monday. Google began digitizing the content of American libraries in 2004 as part of the "Google Library" project. In doing so, it did not seek permission from copyright owners in advance, citing the freedom to use works.
After lawsuits from American publishers and authors, a complex settlement proposal was drafted in October 2008, which still needs to be decided by the court. Google is currently informing the public about this agreement in Europe with the help of advertisements, which is a condition for the agreement to be approved. However, Austrian writers and booksellers believe that even the planned agreement does not sufficiently protect copyright and announce the preparation of a proposal that would be acceptable to them.
Google continues the digitization project, which Austrian writers consider unacceptable. "This is the largest violation of copyright in the world, as authors and publishers should have at least been asked before scanning and digitizing," they stated in a press release. "For publishing parts as well as their parts on the internet, it is necessary to obtain permission from the rights holders before the start of use," concluded Austrian writers and publishers. (H)
