Public Domain Books on Paperback

Google authorized yesterday that 2 million books of its digital library, which are now in the public domain, to be printed as paperbacks on the “Espresso Book Machine,” with a recommended sale price of 8 dollars per copy. Whether more titles could be printed on the Espresso machine depends of the outcome of Google Book Settlement. If authorized, it will be interesting to follow how authors's royalties will be calculated and paid.

What Happens in the Public Domain Must Stay in the Public Domain

Interesting commentary on Wired on Golan v. Gonzalez, by Jennifer Granick, who was recently appointed civil liberties director at EFF. Complete decision here, on Lawrence Lessig's blog.

Plaintiffs had challenged the constitutionality of § 514 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), codified at 17 USC §§ 104A, 109, which had removed some works from the public domain.

The court ruled that "the URAA transformed the ordinary process of copyright protection and contravened a bedrock principle of copyright law that works in the public domain remain in the public domain. Therefore, (...) § 514 has altered the traditional contours of copyright protection."