The outcome is a triumph for the internet company, which had previously faced considerable opposition to its scanning plans in Europe. But it could also signal a shift in European understanding of copyright law.
The Hachette deal is likely to be the first of many that Google will sign in Europe. In a statement in response to questions from Managing IP, a spokesperson said: "We are keen on talking to publisher partners around the world to preserve and disseminate our important cultural treasures, and to find new business opportunities for artists and publishers."
However, she declined to give further details, saying these are still early days in the negotiations: "We hope that this will become a model for extending the commercial life of out-of-print books, which represent 75% of all the world's books, and we will gauge the results of this potential agreement and talk to our other publisher partners around the world."
Guido Westkamp, reader in intellectual property law at Queen Mary University of London, who teaches a course on IP in the digital millennium, said the deal shows "a trend towards privatisation and towards the US [copyright] system". He added that copyright problems with Google Books Search have been "over-rated" and predicted more deals in the future: "The opt-in/opt-out solution works for publishers."
"There is a general tendency to acknowledge that you cannot apply the old copyright law, especially in civil law countries. The digital world requires a few steps away from traditional authors' rights thinking," Westkamp told Managing IP.
Laws in continental European countries have historically emphasised the moral, rather than economic, nature of copyright, and this concept is enshrined in EU law. But, said Westkamp, such notions risk becoming outdated: "If you're say a French or Swedish company you cannot invoke authors' rights against the power of Google."
"Eventually this might lead to an international consensus that leans towards the American notion of copyright rather than the very strict version of personality rights," he added. "The problem is everything needs to be debated at the international level. That will probably take 10 or 20 years."
Google's deal with Hachette Livre surprised some in the publishing industry, as many European copyright owners have been sceptical about Google's digitisation plans. In December last year, the internet company was found to have committed copyright infringement by a Paris court and was ordered to pay publisher La Martiniere €300,000.
The Google Book Search Settlement in the US, which is still awaiting court approval, is limited to books registered at the US Copyright Office or published in the UK, Canada or Australia.
There are also rival scanning projects in Europe, such as Europeana, set up by the European Commission, and Gallica, run by the Bibliothèque Nationale in France.
Concern about the Google-Hachette deal was voiced by the French society of authors (Société des Gens de Lettres, SGDL). In a statement, it recommended that authors take "the utmost vigilance" when signing contracts and digital endorsements "including the remuneration conditions and length of assignment."
While acknowledging that the deal could be good news for authors who want to reach a wider audience and welcoming the progress of digitisation, SGDL said it would be monitoring the negotiations between Hachette and Google over the next six months.
Specifically, it emphasised the digital rights owned by Hachette; remuneration in proportion to book prices for authors; and that "the moral rights of authors should be respected in their entirety".
But Westkamp said this last concern is becoming increasingly outdated: "Moral rights were framed for a different purpose. Once you have new technologies, you need to adapt and recognise the advantages and disadvantages of the new technology."
"What copyright protects today - such as software and databases - are mundane works and don't merit personality rights. Instead, you are protecting the investment in creation," he added.
Instead, Westkamp predicted that there would probably be further discussion about what he calls the "very complex matrix of interests when you consider digital publishing".
Citing the example of bands such as Radiohead, who have used the internet to reach out directly to customers and bypass record companies, he said: "We are seeing the strengthening of authors at the expense of exploiters, as authors can control via the web how rights are distributed. We might end up with a situation where there is very little left for exploiters."
Despite the challenges, though, Westkamp predicted that authors and publishers would look beyond traditional copyright restrictions to embrace digital opportunities: "Unless there are legitimate reasons for refusing publication, advantage should be taken of new technologies. The moral rights objection overemphasises personality."
