Recent discussion and analysis of the current fair use dispute over the Google Print Library Project argues that Google's rights to scan in printed texts is no different than the rights that search engines have to scan and cache the web. See
- Legal Experts Say Google Library Digitization Project Likely OK; Will It Revolve Around Snippets?
- Courts Unlikely To Stop Google Book Copying
- The Google Print Library Project: A Copyright Analysis
I have every hope that Google will succeeed legally in this endeavor. Any expansion of fair use through additional case law is a big plus. But regardless of the outcome of eventual copyright decisions regarding the Google Print Library Project (and there will undoubtedly be some legal action regarding this), it will be more interesting to see whether a court enacts a double standard fair use ruling, one that favors the protection of printed texts more strongly than electronic ones.
Google's Success = Print Publisher's Success
I must say, any print publisher corp that comes out against Google is really acting illogically--probably out of an irrational fear of electronic discourse rather than a sensible view of the situation. It seems to me that Google's efforts is tantamount to free, highly effective advertising for these print books!