SIVACRACY.NET: Google: Betting the Company

Michael Madison gets it exactly right when he explains that this showdown over Google Print Library is aBet-the-Company Case:

Since Google Print is in many copyright-related ways indistinguishable from Google's core search functionality, Eric Goldman points out in a Comment at Conglomerate and in a note on his own blog that this may be a bet-the-company case -- and that Google should stand down.

This is what I have been saying all along: if you dig Google, fear this case and playa-hate this project.

Michael continues:

I agree with Eric's premise, but disagree with the conclusion. Not only do I believe that Google should bring it, so to speak (maybe that's the latent litigator in me), but I have this suspicion that the "do no evil" gang have been itching for a (copy)fight. If Google caves, I'll be disappointed.

Ah, I hate disagreeing with Michael as much as with Fred. But as I have been saying for months, this whole thing looks like a dark, gathering storm. It's not just Google betting the company. It's Google gambling with all of our rights under copyright -- both as copyright producers and users. Many good things could be washed away. This case strikes at the heart of both Google and copyright. It's not some clever fair use algorithm. It's not just one in a string of cases that will slightly expand or slightly constrict users' rights (and, please remember, users are not a party to this suit). It's about the very defining essense of copyright and about corporate copying on a massive and unprecedented scale.