|
European Union members want to create a joint project on the digitisation of books, French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said, challenging Google's plan to create a massive digital library. EU ministers agreed in Brussels on Friday to create a committee of "wise men" to carve out a plan, Mitterrand said in an interview with French newspaper Journal du Dimanche due to be published on Saturday. He also said the digitisation of books should not be left to private companies, and governments had to come up with appropriate policies. "The committee will be asked to bring together national views and draw up a joint position," he told the newspaper. Google's plan to scan millions of books and post extracts online is part of a settlement deal reached with the U.S. Authors Guild. The plan has been praised for bringing broad access to books but has also been criticised on antitrust, copyright and privacy grounds. Asked whether the ministers were in favour of the Google settlement, Mitterrand said he could not comment for the moment. "For my part, there isn't any anti-Americanism. Nevertheless, I believe America isn't a monolith, and different opinions must be expressed. That's why I don't want the State to surrender before the markets," he said. "It's not up to this or that private group to decide policy on an issue as important as the digitisation of our global heritage. I'm not going to leave this decision up to simple laisser-faire," he added. He said that Europeana, an EU platform for digitised books, archives and images, should play a more important role in the future and that ministers wanted to improve its funding. French publishers have accused Google of exploiting their country's literary heritage and in September asked a Paris court to fine the Internet firm if it continues to digitise their books. The tribunal expects to reach a decision by Dec. 18. |
Tags: Google
Mixx
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
delicious
reddit
MySpace
StumbleUpon
LinkedIn
EU's Almunia offers Google chance to settle antitrust case, Google disagrees with opinion
The European Union's antitrust chief on Monday offered Google a chance to settle an investigation into allegations of anti-competitive behaviour after ...
26/11 attacks planned using Google Earth, says U.S commander
Google to meet French regulator on privacy policy
Chrome 19 now available, features Tab syncing
Google Drive gets Research tool
Samsung confirms Galaxy Nexus will not officially launch in India
Google engineer behind Street View data breach identified
The latest "should they-shouldn't they" event with Facebook is the lift of the minimu...
Leaked Images, Availability, Pricing,
Specs, Pre-order
Top 5 free all-in-one messengers for Windows
The number of instant messaging services have exploded, since the first...
Project Darpan: Digitizing Indian local languages
Compared to the relatively slow adoption rate of the traditional PC, that...
Top 10 tips for Internet Explorer 9
Microsoft’s browser Internet Explorer has been around a while and things
By Tech2
Portable Wi-Fi Drives for your smartphone
Bibek Behera
Sat May 26, 21:18:53
Portable Wi-Fi Drives for your smartphone
Ritwick Halder
Sat May 26, 20:46:06
Exploring Apps Store: Apps for the Samsung Galaxy Note
Andi Braime
Sat May 26, 20:00:23
_011517074205_160x90.jpg "Epson Stylus Photo R3000")
Sony to roll-out ICS update next week,...
BlackBerry Curve 9320 announced in India...
Microsoft VP talks about Ballmer's...
Cisco won't invest in their Android...
About Us | Site Profile | Tech2 Team | IBNLive News | IBNLive Hindi News | Cricket News | Indian Stock Market | Policy | T & C
Copyright © 2011, Tech2.com India - A Network 18 India Venture
