Google's ambitious plan to digitize every book ever published was thrown into "legal limbo" this week, when a federal judge rejected a $125 million settlement the company had made with authors and publishers. Judge Denny Chin said the plan would give the company a "de facto monopoly" and allow it, in some cases, to profit from books without the permission of their authors. Is this the end of the road for what would have been the world's largest digital library and bookstore? (Watch a report about the decision)
Yes, and good riddance: Chin's message is "blunt" and "scathing," says Nicholas Carr at Rough Type. Google's "scanner-in-chief" — co-founder and soon-to-be CEO Larry Page — will not be allowed to "unilaterally rewrite copyright rules," and steal the work of authors. Let's hope Page learns something from this, and comes up with a plan that respects everyone's intellectual property rights.
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