Google's plans to scan millions of books and make them
available online is unlikely to advance smoothly in Europe despite
concerns about trailing the US in the digitisation of
culture.
On the first day of a series of debates on the topic, European
commissioners Viviane Reding and Charlie McCreevey acknowledged the
need to adapt Europe's fragmented copyright legislation.
"It is time for Europe to turn over a new e-leaf on digital
books and copyright," they said in a
joint statement.
"If we are too slow to go digital, Europe's culture could suffer
in future," they said.
But yesterday's joint statement coincided with an announcement
by France that it will formally oppose the US settlement that
Google needs to go ahead with its digitisation plan, according to
the
Financial Times.
Although a 2005 class-action lawsuit by authors and publishers
against Google led to $125m settlement and agreement on profit
sharing, the agreement still needs US court approval.
The New York judge due to rule next month on the settlement is
accepting arguments from parties affected by the deal that could
affect the ruling.
France's objection to the US agreement on the grounds that it
will undermine French authors' rights comes a week after Germany
filed a similar objection.
Germany's submission said that the US agreement will
"irrevocably alter the landscape of international copyright
law".
Google has dismissed the objections because the settlement
affects the US only, but commentators have said France and
Germany's position is likely to affect the European debate on
copyright.
The debate in Brussels is expected to continue this week as
policymakers and interest groups meet to discuss the possibility of
a framework to enable Google to scan European libraries.
According to the joint statement by EU commissioners Reding and
McCreevey, the challenge for EU policymakers is to ensure a
regulatory framework that enables a rapid roll-out of services in
Europe similar to those made possible in the US by Google's
agreement with rights holders.
Following this week's meetings, the EC will report back on its
findings to the European Parliament and the Council, the statement
said.