Justice Department Tells Court To Reject Google-Authors Settlement

Washington, D.C. (AHN) – The Justice Department has urged a court to reject a proposed settlement between Google and book authors and publishers for a project to create an online library and bookstore.

In a 32-page legal opinion filed before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday, the department said the $125 million draft settlement to a class suit filed by authors and publishers against Google in 2005 still needs revision to comply with copyright and antitrust law.

The concerns of the department on the proposed settlement are the ability of publishers to restrict price competition. Google’s exclusive right to distribute digitized orphan works or books with unknown or missing authors, and the inadequate representation of all types of authors.

The proposed settlement allows Google to show online 20 percent of most books and sell complete copies of digitally canned books to U.S. readers, universities and other institutions without copyright liability.

The department suggested to the court that it encourage the parties to the case to continue negotiations to comply with pertinent laws.

The department is not party to the case between the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers and Google, but recognizes the public benefit of the ambitious project to make millions of copyrighted and orphan books available on the Internet.

Related posts:

1. Authors Guild blinks and gives Google a monopoly
2. Only idiots like the Authors Guild could believe in this kind of crap
3. Google To Open Online Bookstore To Rival Amazon’s
4. Court case could force one strike and you’re out on downloaders in Australia
5. Justice Department Moves To Have Alleged Nazi Helper Deported