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Google bringing fee-based e-book service to Japan: report
By MarketWatch
Last Update: 12:15 AM ET Nov 25, 2009
TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Google Inc. plans to launch a fee-based service in Japan next year that will allow users to read complete books on their computers at a price, according to a report Wednesday.
Google Japan Inc., Google's GOOG Japanese unit, says prices will be determined by publishers, which will pocket 63% of sales, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported.
To be called Google Edition, the service will offer electronic versions of books offered by publishers. Unlike its free search service, where users see only a portion of a publication, Google Edition will allow all pages to be viewed, the report said.
Google Edition is set to debut next spring in the U.S., Britain and other English-speaking nations, then launched around six months later in Japan, Nikkei said.
Initially, the books will be accessible only through Google's Web site. Users will not be able to download material onto their computers and other devices.
Upon the launch of its service, Google Japan aims to stock an online library of up to 10,000 books. It is already in talks with smaller publishers to sell their works on Google Edition, the report said.
But many leading publishers, such as Shueisha Inc. and Shogakukan Inc., remain wary. Their opposition stems from Google's book search, which has raised copyright issues, the Japanese newspaper reported.
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