Microsoft, Google Take Search Wars to Books

Microsoft on Thursday unveiled improvements to its online book search program that include an increase in available material and more comprehensive search options.

The software giant said it has reached agreements with publishers like Cambridge University Press, McGraw-Hill and Simon & Schuster that will allow Microsoft to use their copyrighted material, according to a corporate blog post.

Additions to Live Search Books, which launched in December 2006, include a counter that tells readers how many pages they have left to read before they must purchase the material and new functions that allow for searches using specific keywords. A preview pane will allow users to view the book cover, summary and table of contents and Microsoft will provide links to purchase the material from online retailers or directly from the publisher, Microsoft said.
The move is yet another shot fired in the battle against Google, which also has a book search program. Both companies are looking to make money from their literary endeavors through Internet advertising.

Google announced in 2004 that it was working with major university libraries to scan their collections and allow users to search them via Google.
That approach "systematically violates copyright and deprives authors and publishers of an important avenue for monetizing their works," said Thomas Rubin, Microsoft associate general counsel, said at a March Association of American Publishers event.
"Google takes the position that everything may be freely copied unless the copyright owner notifies Google and tells it to stop," Rubin said. "Microsoft and most other companies, by contrast, take the position that they should get the copyright owner's consent before they copy."

Google fired back on Friday with the announcement that access to Google Book Search would be available directly from publisher partner Web sites. Those partners include Microsoft partners McGraw-Hill and Cambridge University Press, as well as Transaction Publishers, Perseus, Seven Stories and Zorzal.