Googling books in the "TiVo Culture"

The debate continues and gets increasingly intense between Google and those who write, publish and sell books.

The search engine folks want to make digital copies of entire books so they can offer "fair use" portions on their web site.

The authors and publishers contend that copying entire books would violate copyright laws, and could lead to future misuse beyond the stated objective of "fair use."

My advice to the publishers: start swimming, or you'll sink like a stone.

Legal questions aside, this is something the consumer will eventually demand and the best course of action for those on the publishing side is to figure out a way to make it happen to their advatage.

Legislation may slow down the advent of digitized libraries, but new laws will never stop the shift in consumer attitudes and desires for the ability to "TiVo" every aspect of their life.

Consumers will want this, and they will have it. Look at the music business for a great example of mistaken trust in the legistative process.