Google stops scanning of copyrighted books

Michael Liektke of the Associated Press: Google Stops Scanning of Copyrighted Books.

Stung by a publishing industry backlash, Google has halted its efforts to scan copyrighted books from some of the nation's largest university libraries so the material can be indexed in its leading Internet search engine.

The company announced the suspension, effective until November, in a notice posted on its Web site just before midnight yesterday ...

The project troubles publishers because they fear making digital versions of copyrighted books available on the Internet could open the door to unauthorized duplication and distribution, similar to the rampant online pirating that has decimated the sales in the music industry.

Um, news flash to Michael Liektke: "Pirating" has not "decimated" music industry sales. In fact, music industry sales are up. You can read all about it ... in these Associated Press stories.

Many of us were wondering how Google was going to pull off this trick, given the fierce opposition by the book publishing industry. Now we know: they're not.