google skeptic

Why do you guys keep hitting yourselves?

New deal sought in dispute over Google book plan

NEW YORK — A $125 million settlement of a lawsuit that would give Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books will be renegotiated in light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s contention that the deal probably violates antitrust law, lawyers involved in the case said Tuesday.

Lawyers for The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and other plaintiffs said in court papers that they and Google met with senior Justice Department officials last Thursday and agreed to work with the government to resolve concerns.

[snip]

The Justice Department told U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in a brief filed last week that the agreement threatens to give Google the power to increase book prices and discourage competition, though it said a renegotiated settlement might obey U.S. copyright and antitrust laws.

The government encouraged an improved settlement, saying it “has the potential to breathe life into millions of works that are now effectively off limits to the public.”

Lawyers for the authors and publishers said in court papers Tuesday that, “as the United States government put it, no one wants `the opportunity or momentum to be lost.’”

They urged Chin to delay a hearing scheduled for Oct. 7, saying that a new agreement may take away some objections among the roughly 400 opinions, both pro and con, which were filed with Chin by a deadline earlier this month.

The lawyers noted that the responses included hundreds of objections from individuals and corporate entities. In addition, the governments of Germany and France and the attorneys general in Connecticut, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington had objected.

Google rivals Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have also criticized the deal.

[snip]

Consumer Watchdog, a nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocacy group that has asked the court to reject the settlement, said in a statement that key copyright issues should be settled by Congress in a fully public process.

“Essentially Google and the authors and publishers groups are back at square one and must re-negotiate the deal,” said John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog who was one of eight witnesses to testify about the deal to the House Judiciary Committee.

read it all via The Associated Press: New deal sought in dispute over Google book plan.

Delay in such things may, we hope, be the kiss of death:

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly; if the assassination Could trammel up the consequence, and catch With his surcease success; that but this blow Might be the be-all and the end-all here, But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases We still have judgment here; that we but teach Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return To plague the inventor; this even-handed justice Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice To our own lips.

Macbeth, Act I. Scene VII.

… anybody finds any part of this deal that is legal:

State AGs on Google Books settlement: We object

Five state attorneys general have joined the opposition to Google’s settlement with book authors and publishers, objecting to the way the settlement distributes unclaimed funds.

The attorneys general for Connecticut, Missouri, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington joined the chorus of opposition to the settlement this week, filing briefs with Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before the October 7 hearing to determine whether the settlement should be approved. The states involved are not pleased with the way the Books Rights Registry set up as part of the deal appears to usurp their ability to collect unclaimed payments on behalf of their citizens.

Under the settlement proposed by Google and several author and publisher groups, Google would be allowed to continue digitizing out-of-print but copyright-protected books and offer them–subject to rights holder approval–on Google Book Search. The company would then share a portion of the revenue earned from selling ads against those book search results, as well as links to book retailers with book rights holders, through the nonprofit Books Rights Registry.

The issue that irks the states is that when the rights holders can’t be located, the Books Rights Registry would keep the proceeds on their behalf while they continue the search for those individuals or groups. Laws in the states objecting to the deal require the state treasurer to be the one who accepts an unclaimed payment on behalf of its citizens, according to a copy of the brief submitted by Missouri’s Chris Koster.

read the rest via State AGs on Google Books settlement: We object | Relevant Results – CNET News.

The Register’s invaluable Cade Metz unpacks a desperate Google’s latest “gift” to a wary world. The smell emanating from this generous offer is, in the theater, known as flop sweat:

Google invites Amazon to resell ebook boondoggle

No thanks, say Amazon

By Cade Metz in San Francisco

Hoping to allay fears that its $125m library-scanning settlement would deliver far too much power over the fledgling digital-book market, Google has told Congress it will give competitors access to its online texts.

“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,” company chief legal officer David Drummond said during a US Congressional hearing this morning. This reseller program would apply to a planned service called Google Editions.

The announcement made (many) headlines, from Reuters to The Wall Street Journal to Cnet. But it’s worth noting this sort of affiliate program is already discussed in Google’s 134-page settlement. And the offer would only apply if the controversial pact wins approval.

“Google’s announcement today that it would give retailers access to out of print books via Google Editions is much ado about nothing,” said the Internet Archive’s Peter Brantley, speaking on behalf of the Open Book Alliance, a group that opposes the Google settlement.

“If Google Editions ever comes to fruition — and it’s pure vaporware right now — it doesn’t address the fundamental problems with the Settlement that so many have cited, including the fact that Google would still have sole control over access to the books, and shoppers would still be subjected to questionable and undefined privacy policies.”

Under its pending settlement with American authors and publishers, Google would get 37 per cent of the revenue from digital books sold through its online book service, and Drummond said that competitors would share much of this revenue with the resellers. But the texts would still be housed on Google’s service, and Google would be the sole option for accessing these digital titles.

[snip]

As reported by CNet, when questioned about Google’s announcement, Amazon – a member of the Open Book Alliance – indicated it has no interest in the Editions reseller program. “The Internet has never been about intermediation,” said Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of global policy. “We’re happy to work with rights holders without anybody else’s help.”

read the rest via Google invites Amazon to resell ebook boondoggle • The Register.