Thursday, May 15, 2008

Most Interesting Quote: "'It's a fascinating time, and very confusing,' Mr. Verba said of the copyright controversy. 'And if you ask me if I have a clear view of fair use, the answer is no. It's all up in the air'" (Hafner, 2).

This article has to do with the Google Book Search Library Project and the copyright infringement problems that go hand in hand with said project. Patricia Schroeder is not necessarily anti-Google Book Project, but she does have a problem with Google uploading texts without permission. She makes the argument that authors should have more of a say in what does and does not get uploaded.

Creative Commons is looking to upend the notion of copyright altogether with their own more complicated but specific idea: copyleft. "Copyleft" is an idea meant to confront the problems of living in the age of the Internet. When so many people can easily access legally confusing content, what are copyright lawyers to do? Copyleft would allow authors to "copyleft" works in very specific ways, which would allow people to freely use certain materials within boundaries that are not outlined by copyright.

Sidney Verba is ultimately pro-Google because he thought it was important to preserve information in new and different ways. He understands the arguments of the pro-copyright people, but it is his opinion that the dissemination and preservation of information is ultimately more important than matters of copyright (or he would not have signed the Harvard U. Library up for the project).

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