Tanner Hobin

Who stole Google’s laptops?

Posted on June 6th, 2007 under Google. | Comments Off

At the recent Book Expo America conference in New York, the CEO of Macmillan Publishers Richard Charkin stole two of Google’s laptops from their booth. The stunt was to raise awareness regarding the method in which Google is using to acquire copyright protected content from books. Google Book Search is currently working towards digitizing books from various libraries around the nation. Their method is to gather the information, and then publishers would be responsible for telling Google if they do not want their content in Google Book Search through their Partner Program. Charkin argues that this method is a blatant copyright infringement.

Though I do not agree with the way in which Google is handling the acquisition of information in this case, I’m not sure why a publisher would NOT want their content on Google. It’s essentially free advertising. Plus, if Macmillan’s internet marketing strategy is advanced enough to include PPC advertising, the company could leverage the power of targeted ads for their publications. I’m not familiar with the publishing process, so I may be wrong in assuming that promotion falls in the hands of the publisher. However, I’m certain that Macmillan would eventually benefit financially from having the exposure through Google Book Search.

Regardless, interesting tactic! It may even get Google’s attention towards the issue.