Melville House Books

In the face of mounting criticism of the deal they crafted with Google granting the internet behemoth complete and exclusive control of “orphan” books — books that are out of print but not out of copyright — the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild have apparently launched a joint campaign to fight criticism and see the deal through to approval by a federal Court.

First, Authors Guild head Roy Blount Jr. has written a chatty and somewhat informal public letter defending the Google Book Settlement, saying, “I can’t see any reason to dissent from the settlement over the matter of orphan books” because “Google is essentially being accused of cornering the market on the unmarketable.”

Shortly thereafter, AAP president Tom Allen likewise sent his own open letter to “industry colleagues†supporting the GoogleBS and saying it “represents our best hope of remaining competitive and vibrant in the digital environment.†For some reason, the letter has not been posted on the AAP website, but was instead sent as an email to members (such as Melville House).

In the letter, Allen reiterates most of Blount’s argument and points to other commentators who agree with him, lauds the deal as “a revolution in the access to knowledge” and attacks criticism of the deal as “hyperbolic and misleading.” In the end, he warns, “If not approved by the court, the litigation between AAP, the Authors Guild and Google may continue for years, and with a great risk that authors and publishers will have no effective means to stop the widespread use of copyrighted material that is likely to follow.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.