I’m glad to see all the Google focus here! (And I’m sorry to have been away for so long–a number of writing projects came home to roost, demanding edits, this fall. I’m now finishing number 4 of 5.)
As for GBS: I’m pretty defeatist on the Google Book Search settlement, especially if our enervated antitrust law lets a Googlezon merger eventually come to pass. But during my time at the “D is for Digitize” conference, I did see one provocative presentation (mentioned by Deven below) on some “ways around” publisher/intermediary control of orphan works. The following video might be of interest to copyright classes:
DIY Book Scanner Introduction and Motivation from Daniel Reetz on Vimeo.
Lots of good exam questions there!
By the way, Reetz mentioned at the conference that his scanner had already been used by an Indonesian village to preserve its “land books”–a vital reference work that helps prevent corrupt elements in the country’s government from seizing land from lightly documented owners.