Google svp and chief legal officer announced before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday (in parallel with a posting on the company’s public policy blog) “that for the out-of-print books being made available through the Google Books settlement, we will let any book retailer sell access to those books. Google will host the digital books online, and retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore will be able to sell access to users on any Internet-connected device they choose. Retailers can also pursue their own digitization efforts of out-of-print books in parallel. In essence, this extends our […]
eNews
Some Google Requests Take It on the Chin; Congress Has No Questions for Publishers
In what could be viewed as a signal that Judge Denny Chin is ready for resolution on the Google Books Settlement case, yesterday he quickly denied two motions from opponents. In both rulings, Chin emphasized the view that there has been plenty of time for investigation and expression. Judge Chin swatted away efforts by Lewis Hyde, Harry Lewis and the Open Access Trust to formally intervene for the second time (they were first turned down in April), writing: “This case was filed some four years ago and has been conditionally settled; it is simply too late to permit new parties […]
Meet the Mega MetaMess
One of the main topics of discussion at yesterday’s BISG (Book Industry Study Group) annual meeting was the impending data mess that digital books are producing. I understand that for most of our readership, terms like metadata and identifiers can lead directly to disinterest or slumber but the real-world implications are easier to relate to: When you cannot find a book properly online, or when ebook sales in certain outlets don’t “count” towards bestseller lists, or a retailer can’t get a hold of a copy of something a customer wants to buy, metadata issues take on a new urgency. To […]
Still More Google Books Objections
Among other filings with the NY District Court in the Google Books Settlement case found after our pretty thorough list in yesterday’s Lunch: The Songwriters’ Guild of America says the agreement’s definition of a book, which “includes musical notation and lyrics that do not reach or exceed” certain threshhold, makes music creators and rightsholders in musical works subject to the settlement “despite having had no opportunity to negotiate the terms of such uses. This is a patently unfair result.” Proquest also objected, saying that they are a “class member who has played by the rules of copyright and contract law […]
Final Google Settlement Objections Include Microsoft, France and Connecticut, As Plaintiffs Agree to Foreign BRR Board Members
The final deadline for filing objections to the Google Books Settlement has now passed, and the District Court’s web site shows a wave of new filings, mostly objections. The Computer & Communications Industry Associates filed a brief in support of the agreement, while new objectors include Microsoft and Yahoo, the state of Connecticut, a group of authors led by Harold Bloom, the Internet Archive, the Open Book Alliance (accusing the parties of “a trail of what can only be called misdirection”), Consumer Watchdog, 22 Japanese authors who are key members of the Japan P.E.N. Club, a coalition of authors and […]
Briefs: Amazon's Amends; Robert Jordan eBooks; Pullman on Christ; Another Traditional Party Cancelled
* Over a month after violating its own terms of use and deleting unauthorized versions of George Orwell books from Kindle owners’ machines, on one of the quietest news days of the year Amazon e-mailed customers offering financial amends. The NYT reported that Amazon offering to give customers replacement copies of 1984 and Animal Farm, along with restoring any deleted personal annotations. Alternately, they are offering a gift certificate or check for $30. Though the article doesn’t address this, presumably the belated offer is designed in part to moot litigation that was filed against the etailer following the deletions.NYT * […]