Copyrights and wrongs: Google vs. the publishers

Trends

Adler said the publishers group is well aware that it isn't the first to face the threat of the Internet's mixed blessings. In fact, he said, nothing scared publishers more than the fate of newspapers, which, it could be argued, have fared worse than anyone: Not only have they seen sites like Google use their content, they have felt the need to put their own content online free of charge. And just last week, Google announced that it was testing a new service called Google Base that would allow users to post classified-like listings of items for sale in a searchable Google database, an experiment with potential to cut into a key source of newspaper revenue that has already suffered at the hands of online rivals such as Craigslist.

"One of the reasons the publishers are so concerned about this is because we've seen the way [Google] has treated the newspaper community," Adler said. "All of this looks wonderful from the public's perspective. What part of the public doesn't want something for nothing? But for people with vested interests or investments in a business model, this doesn't help them at all."

[e-mail]