Groups File Briefs In Google Books Case
Two groups that have been critical of Google's digital books project said Thursday the Internet firm's revised settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers does little to fix the structural flaws with the deal. The Open Book Alliance and Consumer Watchdog filed briefs with the federal court weighing the settlement, which was initially opposed by the Justice Department.
Google has argued that the revised settlement will open "access to millions of books while providing rights holders with ways to sell and control their work online." A hearing on the case is set for Feb. 18.
Consumer Watchdog urged the court to reject the settlement, saying it's anticompetitive and violates U.S. and international law. "This scheme acts to the disadvantage of absent class members and would result in unfair competitive advantages to Google in the search engine, electronic book sales, and other markets, to the detriment of the public interest. Along the way, the settlement raises significant international law and privacy concerns," the group said in its brief.
The Open Book Alliance outlined several issues with the revised settlement in its brief. They include the group's claims that "Google's anticompetitive bundling undermines competition" in the distribution of digital books and that the deal fails to resolve antirust concerns because it gives "Google a de facto exclusive license to millions of books and continues to set a price floor for out-of-print books."
Categories:
Antitrust
Join the Discussion
The National Journal Group has the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the comments and to remove any materials it deems inappropriate.
Comments powered by Disqus