According to recent reports, Google is on track to launch its Google Editions program this summer. At the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2009, Google discussed its plans for the program and at a publishing event earlier this week, the company confirmed that it will launch in June or July. As mentioned previously, the program will give consumers the opportunity to purchase in-print e-books through Google Books, as well as publisher and partner retail websites. The digital books will be stored in a cloud so that users can access the books at any time, from any device, as long as the manufacturer of the device allows it.
According to an article from The Wall Street Journal, partners that work with Google will receive “the bulk of the revenue.” It has not been announced which partners and publishers are planning to participate. In addition, Google has not made a decision yet if it will set the prices of the books or allow publishers to set the prices.
It is important to note that Google Editions is about new digital books and is separate from the ongoing Google Book Search settlement which deals with out-of-print books. However, the two initiatives are related because if the settlement is approved, it would allow Google to sell the in-copyright out-of-print titles through the Google Editions program.
