HomeFocus AreasSpace, Facilities & Services

Google Books

 

The Google Books Settlement: Second Round Comments

Late last year, Google, the Author's Guild, the American Association of Publishers, and the individual plaintiffs in the lawsuit over Google's massive book digitization program negotiated several revisions to their original Proposed Settlement Agreement (original agreement). The revisions were designed to address concerns raised by the Department of Justice and other critics who advised the court to reject the original agreement. The deadline to file comments on the new Proposed Amended Settlement Agreement (amended agreement) was January 28, 2010. The Department of Justice filed its comments on Thursday, February 4, 2010. This document describes the second round of comments.

pdf gbs-2nd-round-comments10feb10.pdf

 
 

Research Library Issues, no. 264 (June 2009)

RLI issue 264 includes the following articles:

  • ARL Encourages Members to Refrain from Signing Nondisclosure or Confidentiality Clauses
  • The Case for Regulating Google and the Proposed Book Rights Registry
  • Learning and Research Spaces in ARL Libraries: Snapshots of Installations and Experiments
  • A Different Kind of Conversation: The Sparky Awards and Fresh Views on Change in Scholarly Communication
  • ARL Selects Research Library Leadership Fellows for 2009 10
 
   

Membership Meeting 2009 (Spring): Google Book Settlement 101

Presented at the 154th ARL Membership Meeting, "Transformational Times," May 2009, as part of the "Google Book Settlement 101" program.

mp3 mm09sp-google-opening.mp3

 
 

Membership Meeting 2009 (Spring): Google Book Settlement 101

Presented at the 154th ARL Membership Meeting, "Transformational Times," May 2009, as part of the "Google Book Settlement 101" program.

mp3 mm09sp-google-crews.mp3

 
 

Membership Meeting 2009 (Spring): Google Book Settlement 1010

Presented at the 154th ARL Membership Meeting, "Transformational Times," May 2009, as part of the "Google Book Settlement 101" program.

mp3 mm09sp-google-clancy.mp3

 
 

Membership Meeting 2009 (Spring): Google and Books: Legal Settlement or Information Revolution?

Presented at the 154th ARL Membership Meeting, "Transformational Times," May 2009, as part of the "The Current Fiscal Landscape of Research Libraries" program.

mp3 mm09sp-game-crews.mp3

 
 

Letter to Faculty re: Google Books Settlement

A generic letter for faculty informing them of the implications of the October 2008 proposed Google Books settlement.

doc ltr_google-books-faculty.doc

 
 

Letter to William F. Cavanaugh re: Google Library Project Settlement (Dec. 15, 2009)

The American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries (the Library Associations) write to follow-up on our May 27, 2009 meeting with Antitrust Division staff concerning the proposed settlement of the Google Library Project litigation.

pdf lt-gbs-cavanaugh15dec09.pdf

 
 

Letter to Lamar Smith and John Conyers re: Hearing on Competition and Commerce in Digital Books (Sept. 4, 2009)

ALA, ARL, and ACRL express views on the market for digital books, in particular the proposed settlement of the litigation concerning the Google Book Search service.

pdf competition-digi-books-letter-2009.pdf

 
 

Letter to Daralyn J. Durie, Esq. re: Privacy Concerns about the Google Book Settlement (Oct. 6, 2009)

Letter to attorneys involved in the Google Books Settlement case written to urge Google to include enforceable privacy protections along with the amended settlement agreement.

pdf lt-gbs-group-privacy06oct09.pdf

 
 

ALA, ARL, ACRL Host Meeting of Experts to Discuss Google Book Search Settlement

Members of library community discussed the implications of the Google Book Search settlement in a meeting hosted on February 9, 2009, in Washington, DC, by the American Library Association Washington Office, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Association of College & Research Libraries.

pdf gbs-dc-meeting-summary12feb09.pdf

 
 

GBS March Madness: Paths Forward for the Google Books Settlement

This chart attempts to diagram some of the possible paths forward following the fairness hearing on the Google Books Settlement.

pdf gbs-march-madness-diagram-final.pdf

 
 

Letter to Federal Trade Commission re: Proposed Consent Agreement In the Matter Google, Inc. (Google Buzz), File No. 1023136 (Apr. 26, 2011)

ARL comments to the FTC on the proposed consent agreement, specifically, regarding privacy issues raised by the Google Books product, which involves both searching and selling books.

pdf gbs-privacycomments_26apr11.pdf

 
   

A Guide for the Perplexed Part II: The Amended Google-Michigan Agreement

On May 20, 2009, Google and the University of Michigan (Michigan) entered into an amendment that expanded the 2004 agreement that allowed Google to scan books in the Michigan library for inclusion in Google's search database. The new agreement (the Amendment) addresses the provisions of the proposed settlement agreement between Google and the plaintiffs in the Google Book Search litigation.

pdf google-michigan-12jun09.pdf

 
   

The Google Books Settlement: Who Is Filing And What Are They Saying?

The Association of Research Libraries, the American Library Association, and the Association of College and Research Libraries have prepared this document to summarize in a few pages of charts some key information about the hundreds of filings that have been submitted to the federal district court presiding over the Google Books litigation.

pdf gbs-filingchart28sep09.pdf

 
 

The Google Print Library Project: A Copyright Analysis

On August 11, 2005, Google announced that it would not scan copyrighted books under its Print Library Project until November, so that publishers could decide whether they want to opt their in-copyright books out of the project. Given the confusion in press reports describing the project, publishers should carefully study exactly what Google intends to do and understand the relevant copyright issues. This understanding should significantly diminish any anxiety publishers possess about the project.

pdf band-gbs-copyright-analysis-11aug05.pdf

 
 

A Guide For the Perplexed Part IV: The Rejection of the Google Books Settlement

On March 22, 2011, Judge Denny Chin rejected the proposed settlement in copyright infringement litigation over the Google Library Project. Judge Chin found that the settlement was not "fair, reasonable, and adequate" as required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Judge Chin issued the decision over a year after the fairness hearing he conducted. His opinion agrees in large measure with the objections to the settlement asserted by the U.S. Department of Justice at the hearing and in its written submissions. This paper discusses the opinion and where it leaves Google Books Search.

pdf guide-for-perplexed-part4-apr11.pdf

 
 

Library Copyright Alliance Statement on Copyright Reform

In the wake of Judge Chin's rejection of the Google Books Settlement, there has been a renewed interest in legislative solutions to a variety of copyright issues affecting libraries, including those implicating the mass digitization of books, the use of orphan works, and the modernization of 17 U.S.C. §108 (particularly preservation). The Library Copyright Alliance, comprised of the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), has several general comments on possible efforts to address these issues via legislation.

pdf lca_copyrightreformstatement_16may11.pdf

 
 

Library Copyright Alliance: Copyright Still a Barrier to Mass Digitization

Statement concerning the decision in the proposed settlement of the Google Books lawsuit.

pdf lca_gbsstmt24mar11.pdf

 
 

Supplemental Library Association Comments on the Proposed Google Books Settlement

The American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Association of College and Research Libraries (the Library Associations) submit these comments to address developments relating to the proposed Settlement that have arisen since the Library Associations filed their initial comments with this Court on May 4, 2009. In particular, these comments discuss the amendment Google and the University of Michigan (Michigan) entered into on May 20, 2009 that expanded the 2004 agreement that allowed Google to scan books in the Michigan library for inclusion in Google's search database.

pdf googlebooks-lib-assn-supp-filing-02aug09.pdf

 
 
 
 

Partners

Coalition for Networked Information Logo
Library Copyright Alliance Logo
The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) Logo