I just read Google Versus Publishers, the Sequel, and agree with Mr. Filoux that Google should adopt the more granular ACAP protocol (for controlling what crawlers are allowed on a site). It’s almost impossible to believe that this would be hard for Google to do, and it would be a small gesture to publishers.

But I have a larger issue about copyright, and I think it’s right up Google’s alley.

I recently noticed that somebody Tweeted a link to a free download of a magazine I work for. They forgot to ask our permission. 😉

Some people might say, “but isn’t this to your benefit? Somebody gets a free issue. They may subscribe.”

Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t, but that’s for us to decide, not some pond-scum internet spammer. Nobody has a right to other people’s property, and that includes intellectual property.

Google can help solve the problem of copyright infringement. Here’s how.

First, there needs to be a centralized content registry for publishers. This registry would be used to

1. protect branded terms,
2. protect copyrighted content, and
3. have a designated person at each publisher to manage abuse issues.

This is how the registry would be used.

• Search engines would give preference to brand-related searches for companies that own that brand.
• Publishers would register their content in the repository. Search engines already index content on web pages and compare similar text on different sites, so it should be easy to find unauthorized copies – i.e., to compare the copyrighted text in the repository with text that is being published on some other website. If an unauthorized site publishes copyrighted material, that site would be flagged for abuse and the publisher would be notified. If the issue isn’t resolved, the site would be blacklisted.
• Blacklisting would mean that the site would not appear in search engine results, and links to that site – on Facebook, Twitter, etc. – would be deleted. (Obviously this would require a cooperative effort between these services.) Accounts associated with blacklisted sites would be suspended.

Obviously this idea could use some refinement, but I think something along these lines would work. Furthermore, it’s consistent with Google’s mission to organize the world’s information. That mission has to include a kind of recognition of copyright. So something like this goes directly to Google’s core competency.

Other big web companies would want to participate in this effort because they’d want to look like good guys.

Finally — as another benefit for Google and the publisher — this publisher repository could be a self-funding effort. If every legit publisher voluntarily contributed their copyrighted material to a centralized content index, there are innumerable ways Google and the publisher could make money off of that.