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Deadline looms for Google books arguments
8 Sep 2009The legal tussle over a deal which could see Google converting millions of copyrighted books for digital sale will enter into its final stages today.
A deadline in the US for arguments supporting and opposing a settlement in which the internet giant will team up with US authors and publishers to create a online library of out-of-print books passes at 3pm BST.
An alliance motivated to block the move includes Google rivals Microsoft and Yahoo. Both are likely to spell out their objections in documents submitted today.
They could lodge separate appeals alongside the class action, as did internet retailer Amazon.com last week.
Under a 10-month old settlement, Google would act as a sales agent for groups representing authors and publishers.
The deal has raised fears that Google could emerge as as the ringleader of a literary cartel that would have too much power in determining the price of digital books.
These concerns have resulted in the US Justice Department opening an inquiry over whether the agreements violates laws regarding predatory pricing. It has until September 18 to file its findings.
All other interested parties were due to have supplied their arguments by Friday.
But on Thursday, US District Judge Denny Chin extended the deadline until 10am local time today.
The delay was caused by the fact that the court's electronic filing system went down.
Yesterday, Google made concessions to publishers outside the US.
It said that books that were out of print in America but available elsewhere would not be displayed without explicit consent.
Reader views (1)
Typical Americans, walk over everybody else’s rights and demand that you tow their line. Why should we have to 'opt out', these are our rights we should demand that they have explicit consent for any book or do not publish.
Orphan books are not a smorgasbord of financial goodies for some pirate to dip into and take at will.
If UK or EU books are to be published on line then they should be published by the UK or the EU and the terms should be set by the prevailing legislation.
Any publication without authors consent should result in prosecution of Google executives in UK courts, Small claims on mass can do for a start !
- Don, London UK, 08/09/2009 10:11
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