In his Wired article, Google’s Tough Call, Lawrence Lessig almost seems to be making a case for some sort of intervention in Google’s decision with respect to the demands of book copyright owners.

The article is the best explanation I’ve read of the issues underlying Google’s initiative to index books.

In a related blog posting, Google Joins Yahoo!, Lessig comments on Google and Yahoo!’s separate agreements to filter special searches using the Creative Commons licence.

a case of the public good?
Some feel that the public good would be better served by the availability of readily available services such as the one Google represents. If that is the case, who is best placed to argue the case on behalf of the public? These issues point to how we must adapt the legal framework to the reality of the Internet in order to maximize its usefulness. In our economy there are times when advancing the public good requires some adjustment.

indexing & searching may drive additional value
Publishers and other holders of copyright might be interested in reading up on what is referred to in economics and law as information goods and uncertainty. They may learn that better indexing and searching of their content actually increases the value of their goods. If so, they may decide there may be new and/or better markets for them to exploit.

-pmh

update:
January 18, 2006
If you haven’t seen it already, Lawrence Lessig now has a very nice piece of media on the Google Book Search issue entitled: Is Google Book Search Fair Use?