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Against Monopoly
Let me highlight a few excerpts from Google digital library plan opposed by Angela Merkel: German chancellor opposes the internet firm’s attempt to put every book ever written online:
German chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday waded into the row over Google’s plans to build a massive digital library.
The move was a remarkable intervention from a leading world politician in a growing dispute about the threat posed by the internet, and Google in particular, to publishing companies, authors and also newspapers.
In her weekly video podcast, before the opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair this week, Merkel appealed for more international co-operation on copyright protection and said her government opposed Google’s drive to create online libraries full of scanned books.
“The German government has a clear position: copyrights have to be protected on the internet,” Merkel said, adding that there were “considerable dangers” for copyright protection online.
Isn’t this astonishing? I thought “the goal” of copyright was to promote the spread and growth of human creativity. Now it appears “the goal” is to protect copyright itself. This reminds of government school advocates who say they “believe in public school”; who oppose any attempt to reform or privatize public school because it might threaten public schooling–when the goal of public …