Posted on Monday, December 11 2006 @ 8:24 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Microsoft released Live Book Search,
a competitor to Google's controversial book search service that allows users to search in scanned library books.
Unlike Google Print, Microsoft has resisted the temptation to scan in books without publishers’ permission. Google has faced lawsuits from the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild over the program (see Publishers Sue Google).
In contrast, Microsoft has limited itself to scanning in only books for which it has received permission, as well as books for which the copyright has already expired. Google too was forced to follow a similar plan until it could work out its differences with the publishers and authors groups (see Google Dusts off the Classics).
Like Google, Microsoft has partnered with a group of libraries. In Microsoft’s case, the list includes the New York Public Library, the British Library, the American Museum of Veterinary Medicine, and the libraries of the University of California, University of Toronto, and Cornell University.
