SEATTLE – Microsoft Corp. is launching an initiative to let people search books and other published content online, but the company is taking a conservative approach aimed at avoiding the legal tussles facing rival Google Inc.
The company said Tuesday that it plans to initially work with an industry organization, the Open Content Alliance, to let users search about 150,000 pieces of published material.
The alliance, whose participants include search engine company Yahoo Inc., is working to make books and other offline content available online without raising the ire of publishers and authors concerned about copyright infringement.
Danielle Tiedt, a general manager of search content acquisition with Microsoft’s MSN online unit, said the company also is working with publishers and libraries on ways to eventually make more copyrighted material available for online searches. She said Microsoft is looking at several options, including models where users would be charged to access the content.
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