Open Book Alliance Calls for Scrapping Google Settlement, with Public Guardian
Library organizations, by contrast, have called for reforms
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 01/19/2010
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- Library groups seek oversight of pricing
- Darnton vs. the Authors Guild
- Could LC shepherd a solution?
The Google Book Search settlement approaches finality, with January 28 as the deadline for opting out and filing objections or amicus briefs; February 4 for the Department of Justice (DOJ) response; and February 18 for the final fairness hearing.
While major library groups have called for reform of the settlement, notably oversight of pricing, rather than expressing opposition, the Open Book Alliance (OBA)—which includes tech companies, author groups, the New York Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association—has asked Congress to intervene.
(Also see the OBA's argument that the settlement has not met the DOJ's objections and Publishers Weekly's coverage of authors' opposition to and confusion regarding the settlement.)
OBA letter
In a letter sent to Congressional leaders, the OBA argues that "[a]mending a flawed settlement is not an answer" and proposed steps toward a solution.
The OBA calls for "an open and deliberative conversation in Congress" to "weigh the concerns of all stakeholders and create bright-line laws" that apply fairly.
A "neutral, civic, not-for-profit organization" should be in charge, says the OBA, citing Harvard University Library Dean Robert Darnton, who has proposed that the job go to the Library of Congress.
In the New York Review of Books, representatives of the Authors Guild write that "Google settlement should not be weighed against these dreamy alternative futures," and Darnton responds:
Better yet, the federal government could finance a national digital library by working with Google and the Library of Congress. The Authors Guild accuses me of utopianism by arguing for this solution, and I plead guilty.The OBA also argues that the solution "must not be exclusive to a single for-profit company as a result of legal arrangements delivering unfair monopoly."
Will Congress act?
One reason the settlement moved forward, without full objections from groups like the American Library Association, is that Congress had previously not been willing to act regarding "orphan works," in-copyright but out-of-print, which Google scanned before later setting up a mechanism to contact and compensate the authors.
So it remains to be seen whether the OBA letter, as well as the pending submissions to the court, will prompt Congressional action.
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