US Authors Guild slams Amazon 'hypocrisy'
04.09.09 Catherine Neilan reprting in The Bookseller

Amazon's objection to the Google settlement, filed at a US court earlier this week, has been branded breathtakingly hypocritical by the Authors Guild in America.
In a letter posted online titled "Amazon Accuses Someone Else of Monopolizing Bookselling", the Guild stated: "Amazon's hypocrisy is breathtaking. It dominates online bookselling and the fledgling e-book industry. At this moment it's trying to cement its control of the e-book industry by routinely selling e-books at a loss. It won't do that forever, of course." It argued that the retailer would eventually push the losses from e-book sales over to publishers and authors, warning that Amazon's virtual monopoly could lead to a "devasting" impact on "the economics of authorship".
The decision to file an objection was motivated by fear "that someone else might gain a monopoly in bookselling", the article said.

However, the Guild added the retailer "needn't worry" as Google's settlement solely refers to out-of-print books, meaning "[Amazon's] lock on the online distribution of in-print books, unfortunately, seems secure".
In contrast, Google's digitisation of millions of out of copyright books was described as benign. "The agreement opens new markets, and that's a good thing for readers and authors," the article said. "It offers to make millions upon millions of out-of-print books available for free online viewing at 16,500 public library buildings and more than 4,000 colleges and universities, and that's a great thing for readers, students and scholars. The public has an overwhelming interest in having this settlement approved."