EU governments urge Google Books caution[fr][de] 

EU competitiveness ministers meeting in Brussels tomorrow and Friday (28-29 May) are likely to ask the Commission to launch an investigation into the implications of the project for Europe's authors, a Czech EU Presidency source told EurActiv.

The development comes as another EU source expressed fears that Google Books does not adequately respect European law on the protection of authors' rights.  

"Several member states will raise concerns during the meeting, but it is too early to say what steps could be taken," the source said. 

Member states are aware of the importance of the Google Book Search issue, and the right balance must be struck between supporting a "good initiative" which improves citizens’ access to cultural and research material on the one hand, and protecting intellectual property rights on the other, the source explained. 

Germany had originally raised the alarm about the implications of Google Books for European rights holders at a meeting of EU culture ministers earlier this month, AFP reported. The move attracted the backing of France and eventually led to the decision to discuss it at this week's Competitiveness Council. 

Governments ready to act 

Expressing hope that the EU executive would agree to address the Google Books issue, a diplomatic source from one of the Union's largest member states nevertheless said that "governments won't hesitate to proceed alone" should the Commission fail to act. "We cannot let this happen," the source said. 

The diplomat called on the Commission to conduct an inquiry into the legal and economic implications of the Google Books project, and suggested that the European authorities might consider acting in conjunction with the US government. 

But Czech Presidency sources told EurActiv that it was "extremely early to say" whether common judicial proceedings were even a viable prospect. 

US settlement under fire 

Last year, Google settled a class-action lawsuit tabled by publishers and authors in the US which among other things would see the company create a 'book rights registry' to ensure that rights holders are compensated for digitised copyrighted works. The parties concerned have until September 2009 to object to the ruling. 

Industry journal Publishers Weekly reported that opposition to the US settlement is "gathering momentum" as publishers and authors begin to realise what an "enormous gamble" they have made, and the prospect of government intervention "looms as a potentially significant obstacle". 

Responding to the European developments, Google expressed willingness to engage in "constructive dialogue" with European copyright holders and pointed to last year's settlement in the US as having given access to millions of books while simultaneously "creating a new market for authors," AFP reported. 

"Google's mission is to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," said Sergey Brin, co-founder and president of technology at Google. 

After settling legal proceedings in the US last year, Brin wrote on the company's blog that "we hope and expect that this leap forward with our friends and partners in the publishing industry is just the first of many". 

"We love books at Google, and our fondest dream is that Book Search will evolve into a service that ensures that books, along with their authors and publishers, will flourish for many years into the future," Brin said.