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MAIN NEWS HEADLINES February 25 - March 4, 2010 Edition
Ruling on Google Settlement Could Take Weeks
A decision over the controversial Google settlement with the Author’s Guild
and American Association of Publishers, now lies in the hands of U.S. District
Court Judge Denny Chin following a fairness hearing that took place in a crowded
New York courtroom on February 18.
Judge Chin is expected to take weeks, or even longer, to deliver his decision,
which almost certainly will be appealed regardless of how he rules. Should Chin
rule in favor it would allow Google to create the world’s largest online
library without authors’ permission, a move that may well violate longstanding
US Copyright laws.
Chin said he had received volumes of comments from the public that merited
careful consideration. "There's too much to digest," Chin said. "I
have an open mind." Several attorneys at the hearing said they expect a
ruling to take weeks, if not longer.
The list of opposing speakers included the US Department of Justice, as well
as children’s book authors, privacy advocates and business competitors
such as Amazon and Microsoft.
Those against the $125 million settlement argued that it would give Google
a free hand to scan and publish digital editions of millions of out-of-print
titles with little or no approval from authors or publishers.
In questioning Google, Judge Chin asked, “If you did an opt-in [to the
Google settlement] you would eliminate a lot of objections," Chin noted,
reiterating arguments from the Justice Department and the nonprofit Internet
Archives.
The judge also asked about so-called orphan works, whose authors and rights
holders can't be found. Google and its critics have sparred over how many books
fall into that category, with estimates from a few million to tens of millions
of titles. Google has said it would try to find rights holders of these works.
Critics argue that the deal is designed to give Google exclusive rights to these
works and protect it from lawsuits from rights holders.
"I would surmise that Google wants the orphan books and this is what it
is about -- orphan books that will remain unclaimed," Chin said.
Google's attorney, Daralyn Durie, argued that the opt-out structure was appropriate
because it presented no economic harms to those rights holders, whose out-of-print
books weren’t available for sale and thus they weren’t receiving compensation
for the works. Google’s attorney argued that the settlement provides an
incentive for rights holders to come forward and receive monetary rewards.
William Cavanaugh, deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Justice
antitrust division, said "In forward-looking businesses, Google wants complete
immunity."
Google issued a statement immediately following the hearing saying that it
believes “the settlement strikes the right balance and should not be destroyed
to satisfy the particular interests of the objectors."
At the hearing 21 people spoke in opposition of the settlement and five spoke
in favor.
For background stories on the complicated subject, search for “Google
Settlement” at www.authorlink.com
