The Google Print Controversy -- Why the Fuss?

Just a quick catch up, Google Print has a controversial new program where they plan to scan nearly every book ever written. The point, according to Google, is so that when people do a Google search, if published books contain the searched words, relevant pages will also show up in the search results.

Two groups have filed suits against Google for Copyright infringement. Now I certainly can see how the major publishers are a bit worried about their bottom line. Certainly a clever enough person could use Google Print in a way that would allow them to find each and every page in their favorite James Patterson novel.

But my God that would take a lot of work. Maybe publishers will lose a few dollars to the most enterprising of the copyright stealers, but let's face it these people have other methods (photocopying books at the library, for instance. Or perhaps buying a book at a major retailer, then copying it, and then returning it) for violating copyright laws.

And searching a book page by page on Google is going to take a hell of a lot more work than it would take even to photo copy a book page by page. (And who in their right mind would even want to do that??)

Absolutely there will always be the person trying to beat the system, just because they can.

However...

Here's the key issue I think the major publishers have completely overlooked. We bookies won't use Google to steal books, because we're addicted to BOOKS themselves. Sure the words inside are great, but it just isn't the same unless we are reading an actual book. A 500-page photo copy just doesn't have the same effect for us.

We're going to buy books because we like the way they feel, the way they smell. We like having them next to us, in piles, while we curl up in bed. Searching the internet for a page-by-page copy of the book is going to be about as popular as the pretty much failed downloadable book movement of the past few years.

What Google Print will do is help sell books. Hey, if I'm doing a search for "outlaw pirate with a heart of gold", (oopsie, I mean "great philosophical texts of the 1800s") and I come across a book that has that text inside, a book I've never heard of. Am I going to spend DAYS reading that book online? Heck no, I'm too busy playing video games, doing chat rooms, and keeping my fantasy football league in the playoffs. However, I might just be so excited to dig up a new find in a field I like, that I'm gonna buy me that book to see if I like it.

Love to hear everyone else's thoughts.