<p>For nearly a decade, the Author’s Guild and Google have been in and out of the courts over Google’s book digitization project. The Author’s Guild claims that the project violates copyright law. </p>
<p>Yet, Google has taken great pains to protect the intellectual property of authors and to compensate authors for books sales earned. In addition, a large number of authors actually support the project, because it gives their writings greater exposure–especially if they’re now out of print.</p>
<p>Despite this, the Author’s Guild is pressing on with the suit. At this point, a part of me is starting to suspect that there’s something sinister to this. I wonder if some of the opponents are elitists, who are worried that democratizing knowledge/information might eventually dissolve some of the hierarchies that exist within the world. We all know that a person can use knowledge (along with other things) to create wealth, attain personal refinement, better understand the world around them, and realize self-actualization, among others. Yet, history has shown us that some people don’t want that (see book below). Some would prefer to keep others “in the dark,” so that they themselves will continue having the upper hand. </p>
<p>I’m not saying that all of the employees at the Author’s Guild are like this. But I do find it odd that, rather than working with Google/any other company with a similar goal, they’re instead spending so much time and energy to dissolve the digitization project. If they’re worried about Google forming a monopoly, then why not just say that and then find a way to work around that? I admit that some of the Guild’s concerns are legitimate. Yet, why not be cooperative instead of obstructive? Why working to get rid of something that could revolutionize the world?</p>
<p>Also, I wonder who is funding this lawsuit? From where is the Guild getting the money to continue with this litigation?</p>
<p>See this illustrative book: <a href=“https://archive.org/details/cu31924060296278[/url]”>A defence of aristocracy : a text book for Tories : Ludovici, Anthony Mario, 1882 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive;