Tag Archive | "going to court"
Official: Book Settlement Makes ‘Mockery’ Of Copyright Law
Google's proposed book settlement with book authors and publishers, allowing the company to digitize and sell millions of books, makes a "mockery" of copyright protections in the U.S. Constitution, the head of the U.S. Copyright Office said Thursday. The settlement would give Google an "unlawful and inappropriate" monopoly and strips away the rights of copyright holders worldwide, added John Simpson, a consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog. "The deal simply furthers the relatively narrow agenda of Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers," he said.
Continue reading...Congressional Panel To Review Pros, Cons Of Google’s Book Deal With Authors, Publishers
Thursday, September 10, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Congressional committee will review the pros and cons of a class-action settlement that would give Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of copyrighted books that are no long being published. The antitrust concerns prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into whether the settlement will undermine competition. The Justice Department is scheduled to report some of its preliminary filings to Chin by Sept. 18. Other critics, including consumer watchdog groups and some library associations, are worried the deal will open a window on what kinds of books people are reading.
Continue reading...Congress To Weigh Google Books Settlement
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Others witnesses are likely to cast a more skeptical eye on the agreement, including John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit that has opposed the agreement; Randall Picker, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School who has raised antitrust concerns; and Marybeth Peters, the head of the United States Copyright Office, who has also raised questions about the deal.
Continue reading...Flurry Of Last-Minute Objections to Google Book Project
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog warned that "if the settlement were approved, it would give Google a default monopoly to books for which the rightsholders cannot be located, resulting in unfair competitive advantages to Google in the search engine, electronic book sales, and other markets."
Continue reading...Congressional Hearing To Focus On Google Book Search
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The Google Book Search Settlement has taken yet another twist: in a last minute announcement, the House Judiciary Committee today posted notice that it would hold a hearing on “The Competition and Commerce in Digital Books” or, in other words, the Google Books Search Settlement, on Thursday, September 10th at 10am. With the hearing, the Google Book Search settlement has now hit the trifecta—all three branches of government are involved: the Judiciary is overseeing the settlement; the Executive, via the Department of Justice, is looking at antitrust issues; and now Congress, which brings the widest possible government scope from which to address potential issues with book digitization.
Continue reading...As Deadline Passes, NWU, Consumer Watchdog Join Google Books Objectors
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The National Writers Union and Consumer Watchdog were among those to file briefs urging rejection as the Google Book Search Settlement deadline officially passed this morning. Although the final lineup of objectors won’t be known until all the last-minute briefs have been processed by the court, the groups join DC Comics, The American Society of Journalists and Authors, a coalition of some 58 authors and the Open Book Alliance (which includes Google competitors Microsoft and Amazon.com) in urging the court to reject the proposed settlement.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Urges Court To Reject Google Books Deal, Calls New Privacy Policy Inadequate
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Brief Argues Books Settlement Violates Both U.S. And International Copyright Law, Is Anticompetitive WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Consumer Watchdog today filed a brief urging a federal court to reject the proposed Google Books settlement because it is anticompetitive and violates both U.S. and international law. Separately, the consumer group called a Books privacy policy Google offered late last week inadequate.
Continue reading...Microsoft’s Secret ‘Screw Google’ Meetings In D.C.
Friday, August 28, 2009
In recent months, two heavily detailed, annotated versions of confidential Google slide presentations -- one dealing with competition issues, the other with behavioral targeting -- have been published by a Santa Monica–based group called Consumer Watchdog. The annotations are highly critical of Google and seek to rebut the search giant's arguments.
Continue reading...Tech Giants Unite Against Google
Friday, August 21, 2009
Three technology heavyweights are joining a coalition to fight Google's attempt to create what could be the world's largest virtual library. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU of Northern California and the Consumer Watchdog advocacy group wrote to Google to ask the company to "assure Americans that Google will maintain the security and freedom that library patrons have long had: to read and learn about anything... without worrying that someone is looking over their shoulder or could retrace their steps".
Continue reading...Court Weighs Literary Flap Of The Century
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Author's Guild has urged members to go along with a lawsuit settlement that would allow Google to digitize millions of books from libraries and make them available in its Book Search service. A prominent literary and talent agency has urged just the opposite. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice currently has the settlement under review for possible violations of antitrust laws. A federal court has extended the deadline to Sept. 4 for authors and publishers to opt out of the proposed agreement. The court has been inundated with proposed changes to the settlement, including one filed by a group of California professors who suggest the settlement isn't fair to academic writers. Several groups, including The Internet Archive and Consumer Watchdog, have also raised concerns about the issue to the Justice Department in what many consider the literary flap of the century.
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Thursday, September 10, 2009
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