The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 52, December 26, 2004, Article 4

JORG LUEKE ON GOOGLE AND COPYRIGHTS

  Jorg Lueke, creator of The Electronic Numismatist 
  profiled in previous issues writes: "I have three 
  comments on this issue.  Regarding Michael's Marotta's 
  review I am happy to report that the new version was 
  created and went out at the end of last week.  Anyone 
  who had ordered the first version has received an
  updated copy.  As stated in the note the main update 
  was to correct some blank pages as well as some header
  inconsistencies.  If anyone else notices any problems 
  I'd love to hear and correct them at 
  numismatist at ancientcoinvalues.com.

  On the Google effort of digitization I am very intrigued. 
  It obviously is an idea after my own heart and had I 
  the capital something I certainly would consider.  I do
  think the timetable is rather aggressive, not so much for 
  scanning, but for fixing all the little bugs.  Character 
  recognition software has issues even with the typefaces 
  used in the old volumes of the Numismatist, it is also 
  very sensitive to the contrast of type to paper.  The 
  latter characteristic can weaken rather quickly.  So I 
  think we'll see scanned books sonner.  But properly 
  indexed and error free ones a few years later.  Still, 
  as knowledge becomes digital it will become ever more 
  accessible, and as the delivery of digital works becomes 
  easier to read (paper books that display digital works)
  the amount of knowledge at each of our fingertips will
  increase exponentially.

  The only other drawback is today's copyright law.  
  Designed to protect the intellectual property of 
  corporations in perpetuity the law protects all works 
  without distinction from 1964 onward.  Maybe that's O.K.
  for Donald Duck but if an author wrote three numismatic 
  pamphlets in the early 1970s and then passed away it 
  can be almost impossible to track down the heirs and
  acquire the rights.  Requiring a renewal after 28 years 
  would protect all those who sought to extend their 
  copyright will allowing the flow of information into 
  the public domain to happen much more readily."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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