Google Books Settlement: Is The Open Book Alliance Trying To Get Something For Nothing?

Sep 9, 2009 at 5:30pm ET by Greg Sterling

The legal briefs were flying fast and furiously as all the interest groups, supporters and competitors rushed to meet a deadline for third parties to weigh in on the Google Book Search settlement. The NY Times quotes legal scholars who argue that the "quality" and volume of the filings in the case will make it challenging for the judge to quickly resolve the matter. In some respects this is a "novel" situation in which a great deal is at stake for the involved parties and book publishing more broadly. A settlement hearing is scheduled for October 7. Scores of companies, interest groups a [...]

Filed in: Features: Analysis, Google: Book Search, Google: Legal, Legal: Copyright, Top News

Microsoft, Yahoo, & Amazon Will Fight Google Book Settlement

Aug 20, 2009 at 8:18pm ET by Matt McGee

There are several reports (see New York Times and Wall Street Journal) that Microsoft, Yahoo, and Amazon will join a coalition aimed at challenging the Google book settlement. Peter Brantley, director of the Internet Archive, which is putting the coalition together, tells the Wall Street Journal that coalition members want the agreement revised, but aren't necessarily pushing to have it blocked. The settlement stems from a lawsuit that claimed Google's practice of scanning books and making them available online violated the copyrights of authors and publishers. Google settled the lawsuit [...]

Filed in: Google: Book Search, Legal: Copyright

French Upset Over Google Library Deal, Lawyer-Author Files New Arguments Against Book Search Settlement

Aug 19, 2009 at 10:29am ET by Greg Sterling

It's probably fair to say that the French have a love-hate relationship with American culture, companies and institutions. (The same could be said for some Americans; remember "freedom fries"?) The latest expression of the negative side of that equation in the Gallic world is disappointment over an apparently impending agreement between the French national library and Google to allow the latter to scan its books. The UK's Times Online has the story of what one french journalist described as a movement by the library from "resistance to collaboration": The Bibliothèque Nationale de France (B [...]

Filed in: Google: Book Search, Google: Critics, Google: Legal, Legal: Copyright, Legal: General

Google Versus News Organizations: What’s Fair?

Jul 15, 2009 at 10:23am ET by Greg Sterling

A new Columbia Journalism Review opinion piece argues persuasively (in my view) that Google "owes" something to traditional journalism and news organizations. Google, typically, is a stand-in for "the internet" in these discussions. This notion of responsibility to publishers is unpopular among bloggers and Internet denizens more generally. I tend to fault news organizations for not being faster, smarter and more creative in their online efforts. It's also the case that the Internet as a publishing and distribution platform has disrupted traditional media models across the board. And pointi [...]

Filed in: Features: Analysis, Google: News, Legal: Copyright, Legal: General

US Justice Dept. Formally Confirms Google Books Inquiry

Jul 3, 2009 at 8:34am ET by Greg Sterling

It's not really a surprise or even news that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed yesterday it was formally investigating the terms of the Google Book Search settlement. This was known as far back as April and essentially confirmed last month by various publications reporting that formal requests (called "civil investigative demands”) had been issued to book publishers by the DOJ. What happened yesterday was that the DOJ provided procedural notification to the court that the US is exploring the potential anti-trust dimensions of the Google settlement. The so-called "fairness heari [...]

Filed in: Features: Analysis, Google: Book Search, Google: Critics, Google: Legal, Legal: Copyright, Legal: Crawling & Indexing, Top News

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