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Federal Judge Rejects Google Books Deal

Posted by timothy on from the edge-of-the-copyright-envelope dept.

14erCleaner writes "US Circuit Judge Denny Chin has rejected a $125 million settlement between Google Books and the author's guild that would have allowed Google to publish all out-of-work fiction online. Chin has previously ruled more favorably on this case."

6 of 234 comments (clear)

  1. How does some guild get authority by assemblerex · · Score: 5, Interesting

    to represent all authors of out of print fiction? Can I install myself
    as the representative for all out of print romance?
    What a load of cowpucks

    1. Re:How does some guild get authority by hawguy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The rest of the members will be mailed a notification of settlement, including instructions on how to get their $0.38 share of the award (the lawyers, of course, will get about $45M off the top).

      Except that there's no payment for anyone (except the laywers, of course), because the judge rejected the settlement -- Google wanted to pay $125M for the ability to make out-of-print books available online, giving authors the ability to opt out. The judge suggests that opt-in would be better, but I'd guess that there are many more out-of-print books with authors that are dead, just-don't-care or would be happy that their books will be available, than those that want their out-of-print book to stay out of print because they have some grand plan to reissue it some day.

      So the opt-in model is far less valuable to public (and to Google) because it means that far fewer out-of-print books can be made available.

    2. Re:How does some guild get authority by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So the opt-in model is far less valuable to public (and to Google) because it means that far fewer out-of-print books can be made available.

      I was a member of this class, and I'm glad this settlement got overturned. I don't have any out-of-print books, apparently the class included everyone who had a book copyright registered in the USA - Google is indexing and posting online all books that they can, not just ones that are out of print. The reason that I'm glad that the settlement was overturned is that it gives Google far too much power. After paying the token sum, Google may put any out of print books online, but anyone else doing so gets a statutory fine for wilful copyright infringement of $750-$150,000 per book.

      Google basically gambled that they could violate copyright on all books and get away with it. Rather than lobbying to make some sane changes to copyright law, they want copyright to remain overly strict, but to just apply to everyone except them. One law for Google, one law for everyone else. Of course, it's okay because Google isn't evil...

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  2. That's what *he* said. by jvonk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How does some guild get authority to represent all authors of out of print fiction?

    Well, according to TFB (blurb), that's essentially the judge's rationale for rejecting the deal.

    I am torn: on one hand, I believe that copyright law no longer "promotes the progress of Science and useful Arts", so I would like to see Google have the ability to make a sweeping digital library of abandonware books (seriously, if the authors aren't selling the book, how are they harmed?)

    However, if this deal went through, it seems likely that it would have been the birth of another MAFIAA-style intellectual property racket.

    So, perhaps we are considering the situation from an artificially constrained viewpoint. The pragmatic approach to getting the digital library would have been to take the deal with this newborn devil, but we would have to live with those consequences. The idealistic approach would be to "fix" copyright law so that such a library could be created... you know, the better to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts".

    Does anyone else want some of what I am apparently smoking to cause me to have such fantastic & vague ideas (haha)? Maybe I got hit on the head or something.

  3. Let's clear something up... by GrumpySteen · · Score: 5, Informative

    2.4 Non-Exclusivity of Authorizations.

    The authorizations granted to Google in this Amended Settlement Agreement are non-exclusive only, and nothing in this Amended Settlement Agreement shall be construed as limiting any Rightsholderâ(TM)s right to authorize, through the Registry or otherwise, any Person, including direct competitors of Google, to use his, her or its Books or Inserts in any way, including ways identical to those provided for under this Amended Settlement Agreement.

    Google was not trying to get exclusive rights to anything. Anyone and everyone else would have been free to scan in books and sell them exactly like Google wanted to do.

    Everyone posting here about how evil Google is for wanting exclusive rights to sell these books is wrong. None of them have read the proposed settlement and they have no clue what they're talking about. They're spreading FUD and you idiots are falling for it.

    1. Re:Let's clear something up... by I3OI3 · · Score: 5, Informative
      No, you're absolutely right. Absolutely anybody else who wanted to could compete by:
      * Openly commiting a massive infringement (note that non-massive infringement would not be sufficient)
      * Being sued by the Author's Guild
      * Having that suit granted a class action status
      * Having a large enough legal team you can fight the class action lawyers
      * Convincing the class action lawyers that they should settle into a business deal instead of cashing out
      * Ensuring that this deal is sweeter for the lawyers than Google's or they'll just keep monopoly rents through Google

      Yep. There's no exclusive rights here at all.