Qualms About Google Settlement Rise, as Observers Await Department of Justice Brief
More concerns were raised over the lasting implications of the deal, and Stanford University expanded its partnership
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 02/04/2010
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- PW article raises doubts
- Google, Stanford announce deal like one signed by Michigan
- Open Book Alliance summarizes qualms
As commentators eagerly awaited a filing today by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on the Google Book Search Settlement, two weeks before a scheduled fairness hearing, the settlement now faces its biggest challenges ever.
(Update February 5: Here's the DOJ's expression of significant concerns.)
Publishers Weekly's Andrew Albanese (a former LJ editor) this week reported, in Deal or No Deal: Part II:
Opposition has swelled, and if there was any question before, there is little question now: the deal is in jeopardy. “This was a fairly discrete lawsuit over past copying that got turned into an enormously complicated commercial venture,” objector Scott Gant told PW last week... “[The settlement] is so far beyond the pale that it is hard for me to see how the judiciary could approve this.”Those interviewed by Albanese agree that there's more litigation in the future, whether the deal is approved or rejected and, if it's the latter, the search for a better solution won't be easy.
What went wrong? For the past 16 months, proponents of the Google Settlement have focused on broad, positive themes: the public benefit; the new market it creates for out-of-print books; benefits for the disabled; access for libraries; and a new life for orphaned works—all compelling arguments, certainly. But it seems that the macro, good-for-us and good-for-you argument has not been enough to cut through the unprecedented, complex terms of the settlement document. Is anyone really surprised?
Stanford signs on
Meanwhile, Google and Stanford University announced they had expanded their partnership, as had the University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Texas. "That means that if the settlement agreement is approved by the court, anyone in the U.S. will be able to find, preview and buy online access to books from Stanford's library," the statement said.
As with the Michigan agreement, announced in May 2009, it also means that Stanford would get a subsidized subscription to Google Book Search and allows it, and Google’s other library partners, to challenge the pricing of institutional subscriptions, thus serving as a stand-in for the library and higher education comment.
The OBA roundup
In a blog post by attorney Gary Reback, the Open Book Alliance contended that "the amendments turned out to be more illusory than substantive, as an even more diverse array of important interests filed strong objections to the proposed settlement last week."
They include "[h]undreds of Canadian authors," the American Society of Journalists and Authors and other American author groups' several international author groups; American academic authors; individual authors; several nations; commercial enterprises (and competitors) such as Microsoft and Amazon (both OBA members); five states; and several consumer protection groups.
Reback wrote, "Most telling was the change in position by the Institute for Information Law & Policy. The Institute formerly recommended that the Court insist on the modification of troubling provisions in the Settlement." (LJ reported on that shift last week.)
Congressional concern
This week Reps. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX) and Gene Green (D-TX) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder expressing some concerns about the proposed settlement, citing worries from several minority publishers who think the settlement may impinge on their rights and those of other small businesses.
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