Internet giant Google will start distributing and selling e-books this year on behalf of several publishing partners, the company announced yesterday.
The move is an attempt to compromise with publishers and authors who are upset over the company’s decision to scan and publish copies of books through its Google Book Search function.
“We’ve consistently maintained that we’re committed to helping our partners find more ways to make their books accessible and available for purchase,” Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker told Information Week.
“By the end of this year, we hope to give publisher partners an additional way to sell their books by allowing users to purchase access to partner program books online. We want to build and support a digital book ecosystem to allow our partner publishers to make their books available for purchase from any web-enabled device.”
It is still unsure whether the e-books sold will be in a protected or open format.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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