Official Slams Google Book Settlement
The U.S. government's top copyright official told lawmakers Thursday Google's pending $125 million deal in a class-action lawsuit with authors and publishers will encroach on Congress' role in setting copyright policy. The settlement, which would embolden the Internet giant's effort to create the world's largest digital library and bookstore, would also let the firm "engage in a number of indisputable acts of copyright infringement," Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters told the House Judiciary Committee.
Specifically, the settlement awaiting a federal court's blessing would allow Google to sell out-of-print works without rights-holders' consent, Peters said, calling it "an end-run around copyright law as we know it." The deal would also interfere with lawmakers' recent efforts to rework a statute dealing with "orphan works" -- musical tracks, writings, images, videos or other content whose owners cannot be easily found. The Senate passed such a bill last Congress, but a companion bill stalled in the House.
Read the full story in Thursday's CongressDaily PM Edition here and a related story in the AM Edition here that questions whether the Google feud could fuel a renewed push for copyright reform on Capitol Hill (subscription required).
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