Saturday, September 19, 2009

DOJ Urges Changes To Google Book Deal

The Justice Department weighed in on Google's plan to create the world's largest digital library and bookstore late Friday, telling a New York federal court that it should press for changes to a pending $125 million deal in a class-action lawsuit involving the Internet giant, authors and publishers. The government said it has concerns about the arrangement, which stemmed from a 2005 suit, but a properly structured deal could have societal benefits.

DOJ told U.S. Judge Denny Chin who has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 7, that the parties should consider the following changes: imposing limitations on open-ended provisions for future licensing; eliminating potential conflicts among class members; providing additional protections for unknown rights holders; addressing concerns of foreign authors and publishers; eliminating joint-pricing mechanisms among publishers and authors; and providing a way for Google's competitors to gain comparable access.

The U.S. government's top copyright official warned last week that the settlement would encroach on Congress' role in setting copyright policy and would let Google "engage in a number of indisputable acts of copyright infringement." Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters testified alongside fans and foes of the proposal during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said the deal complies with copyright law and will lower barriers to entry for competitors.

The Open Book Alliance, a group formed by interests who oppose the current settlement plan, said it was pleased with DOJ's action. Making books searchable, readable and downloadable can unlock huge amounts of cultural knowledge but the arrangement as drafted is the wrong way to go about making that promise a reality, the group said. One of Google's chief critics, a nonprofit called Consumer Watchdog, said even if DOJ's concerns are addressed, the settlement should not be implemented.

Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers issued a joint statement saying DOJ's filing "recognizes the value the settlement can provide by unlocking access to millions of books in the U.S. We are considering the points raised by the department and look forward to addressing them as the court proceedings continue."