Judge Blocks Google Digital Library
Judge Blocks Google Digital Library
A federal judge in New York earlier this week rejected a $125 million settlement between Google Inc. and a large group of authors. The agreement would have let Google publish millions of books in a digital online library which would easily be the world's largest. The judge, Denny Chin, felt the deal would give Google a significant competitive advantage and “would simply go too far” in giving Google the power to exploit digitized copyrighted works by selling subscription-based access to them without permission.
The Mountain-View, California-based search giant has reportedly scanned some 12 million books from several of the nation's finest libraries as part of what it describes as a project to provide easier access to the world's knowledge. Google was sued by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers for violating copyright laws, and the two sides reached an agreement wherein Google would cough up $125 million for authors whose books had already been scanned, and to identify and share appropriate revenue with authors who have not yet come forward.
Critics, meanwhile, opposed the settlement, arguing that it gave Google an unfair competitive advantage and violated antitrust laws, claims Chin agreed with. “The ASA (amended settlement agreement) would give Google a significant advantage over competitors, rewarding it for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission,” the judge wrote in his decision.
Chin urged the two sides to rework the settlement to include only books whose copyright holders have agreed to the settlement, rather than making it a blanket deal that would require authors to “opt out” if they do not want their work to be included in the digital library. Chin rejected the proposed settlement “without prejudice,” meaning the settlement could be adjusted and re-submitted.
A federal judge in New York earlier this week rejected a $125 million settlement between Google Inc. and a large group of authors. The agreement would have let Google publish millions of books in a digital online library which would easily be the world's largest. The judge, Denny Chin, felt the deal would give Google a significant competitive advantage and “would simply go too far” in giving Google the power to exploit digitized copyrighted works by selling subscription-based access to them without permission.
The Mountain-View, California-based search giant has reportedly scanned some 12 million books from several of the nation's finest libraries as part of what it describes as a project to provide easier access to the world's knowledge. Google was sued by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers for violating copyright laws, and the two sides reached an agreement wherein Google would cough up $125 million for authors whose books had already been scanned, and to identify and share appropriate revenue with authors who have not yet come forward.
Critics, meanwhile, opposed the settlement, arguing that it gave Google an unfair competitive advantage and violated antitrust laws, claims Chin agreed with. “The ASA (amended settlement agreement) would give Google a significant advantage over competitors, rewarding it for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission,” the judge wrote in his decision.
Chin urged the two sides to rework the settlement to include only books whose copyright holders have agreed to the settlement, rather than making it a blanket deal that would require authors to “opt out” if they do not want their work to be included in the digital library. Chin rejected the proposed settlement “without prejudice,” meaning the settlement could be adjusted and re-submitted.
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