Settlement will not give Google dominance, says Authors Guild

17.11.09 Catherine Neilan - The Bookseller

The Google settlement will not give the internet giant a significant hold over the publishing industry, because it has "zero market share" in in-print books, the Authors Guild has said.

At yesterday's press briefing on the Google settlement, Paul Aiken, executive director of the AG, said "no one" expected the deal to change the current landscape of book retailing.

"As far as market share goes, there is no contest. Google entering the market for out of print books just doesn't change the equation."

Speaking with The Bookseller subsequently, he added: "Some people are afraid that the settlement gives Google dominance over the book industry, but that is so far from true, since it is about out of print books.

"Google has zero market share in books right now, and we don’t see that them being able to offer online versions of out of print books will change that in any way."

Aiken said it would increase online competition, which would be a "good thing for everybody - authors, publishers and readers". But, he added: "Amazon's hold is pretty strong."

It is expected that the Open Book Alliance, of which Amazon is a member, will lodge a formal appeal against the revised settlement. Shortly after the amendments were announced, the co-chair of the coalition Peter Brantley branded them a "sleight of hand" and "surgical nip and tuck".
But Aiken said the AG would oppose any move of this kind.

"We would just be defending our settlement," he said. "We think it’s a good thing for authors, publishers and readers – and we think their opposition is more about, at least in Amazon's case, protecting their position as the dominant player online."