The digitisation of books is becoming an increasingly controversial issue in Brussels. Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding is supporting the efforts of Google, the main private actor in the field, while Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has called a hearing on copyright violations committed by Google Books in Europe.

The digitisation of books is becoming an increasingly controversial issue in Brussels. Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding is supporting the efforts of Google, the main private actor in the field, while Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has called a hearing on copyright violations committed by Google Books in Europe, following complaints of many member states.

The way has been cleared for millions of out-of-print books to appear on the internet with the news during the week that Google has come to a $125 million settlement in two copyright lawsuits brought against it over its plans to scan books and make them available. Google has already scanned around 7 million books, of

Google will listen to 21 speakers against the digital books settlement today at a fairness hearing in New York, where the French and German governments are the only governmental opponents of the deal. Other opponents include companies like Amazon and Microsoft, among others. The US settlement would pave the way for Google to develop a $125m Book Rights Registry in a compromise the company had reac...

The Writers' Guild has been asked by the Court-approved notice provider to circulate information about the settlement agreed by Google with US authors' representatives over out-of-print books. Full details can be found on the Guild website.

The European Commission is to hold a hearing in September for interested parties to comment on the impact on EU writers' rights of a deal struck with publishers by Google to make millions of books available online.

Here's a google map pinpointing various news stories on the loss of individual freedom in the UK: have a look here hat tip: PJC Journal

From Stephen Foley in The Independent: Google has settled lawsuits brought by authors and book publishers, including the UK's Pearson, with a deal that will make millions of out-of-print books available on the internet. The US-only deal, announced yesterday, creates a Book Rights Registry, which...

Published works from the US, UK, Australia and Canada only will be included in Google's digital book search project, Google and book industry representatives agreed on Friday (13 November).

Google's ambitious plans to scan millions of books and make them readable through its search engine suffered another blow after France said it would formally oppose the US settlement that Google needs to circumvent complex copyright issues