book-settlement
Google throws down gauntlet: no more book settlement changes
Yesterday, the parties involved in the Google book settlement made a series of filings, all of which requested that the Amended Settlement Agreement be ratified in its current form. The last time around, when faced with objections from groups ranging from the US Department of Justice to authors, the parties withdrew their initial settlement in order to make the changes that produced the ASA. Now, faced with many of the same objections from the same exact groups, Google and the plaintiffs have decided they’ve gone as far as they intend to, and will fight for the approval of the ASA.
Continue reading »Google book digitization prompts the EU to rethink copyright
The legal settlement that would sanctify Google’s book digitization efforts may be on hold, but that hasn’t stopped the sniping over digitization in general, and Google’s specific role in vending e-books. The Frankfurt Book Fair , a major publishing event, is playing host to the latest skirmishes over what role Google and other organizations should play in controlling access to digitized material. Google continues to insist that it’s doing the world a favor by preserving knowledge and bringing lost books back to the public, but at least some European academics are blasting the company’s statements as propaganda.
Continue reading »Resistance to Google book deal builds as Google woos Europe
Last Friday, the deadline passed for formal comments from parties interested in the Google Book Settlement, but the flow of less-formal comments doesn’t seem to have abated. The settlement would turn the search giant into the gatekeeper for out-of-print books, and a variety of groups have now expressed concern for the sweeping changes it would allegedly make to the management of copyrights. This week, however, the focus has shifted to Europe, where Google has faced opposition from France and Germany that has prompted it to offer some concessions to local publishers.
Continue reading »Amazon: Google book deal possibly illegal, definitely bad
This Friday is the deadline for documents to be filed with the court that’s overseeing the Google book settlement, which will absolve the search giant from liability for its book scanning activities and set up an independent entity that will oversee the distribution of e-books from its digital stacks. Amazon, given its sales of both print and e-books, has joined a group that opposes the deal , but that hasn’t stopped it from filing an objection to it individually. Amazon’s lawyers spend over 40 pages arguing why that the deal should be rejected on copyright and antitrust grounds, while throwing in a very explicit admission that it’s bad for its business model.
Continue reading »Publishers: DOJ “focused on Google” in book settlement probe
Various sources within the publishing industry have indicated that the US Department of Justice has issued formal requests for information as part of its investigation into the publishers’ proposed agreement with Google. Although that agreement, which would settle copyright infringement suits filed in response to Google’s book scanning activity, involves a broad array of publishing interests, the requests reportedly focus on the search giant rather than any collusion by publishers. The entry of the DOJ suggests that the government may, in effect, become a third
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