Google Book Search Hearing Planned
The House Judiciary Committee is planning a hearing soon after lawmakers return to Washington this month to examine Internet giant Google's controversial effort to digitize mass quantities of books. Sources on Capitol Hill and within industry told Tech Daily Dose on Tuesday that the hearing could occur next week or the following week in Chairman John Conyers's full committee or the Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, which is chaired by Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga.
A New York federal court has scheduled a fairness hearing for Oct. 7 on the $125 million settlement Google reached with publishers last October that lets authors and publishers cash in on the company's plan to display books online and profit from them by selling access to titles and by selling subscriptions to its collection. The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers filed a class action lawsuit against Google in 2005. The Justice Department formally acknowledged an investigation into the settlement this summer.
In related news, the National Writers Union wrote to former Vice President Al Gore on Tuesday asking him to use his influence to extend a Sept. 4 date for rights holders to opt out of the Google Books initiative and the Oct. 7 court date on the pending settlement. The deal "threatens to monopolize the access, distribution and pricing of the world's largest digital book database," NWU President Larry Goldbetter wrote. Gore serves as a senior advisor to Google and has a personal relationship with co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Update: A House Judiciary spokesman confirmed that a full committee hearing would be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10.
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