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E-Reads explains Google Book Settlement
April 16, 2009 | 11:07 am
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By Paul Biba
This is one of the most concise, and easiest to understand, explanations of the settlement that I have seen. Every author should take a look at this short article and be sure that they understand it.
For the purpose of explaining it simply, we can divide books into three fundamental categories: 1) Those whose copyright is currently in effect and the copyright owners have been located; 2) Those whose copyright protection has expired and have entered the public domain where anyone may publish them without obligation to the copyright owner; and 3) Those whose copyright is currently in effect but the copyright owners have not been located or have not asserted their ownership.
If you’re in the first category you are afforded a large measure of control and protection including the right to opt out of the Google settlement. By opting out, you retain the right to file your own lawsuit or join a separate lawsuit against Google. If you opt out, you will not be entitled to receive any payments under the Settlement, or take advantage of other Settlement benefits. You must submit your opt-out instruction online or postmarked on or before May 5, 2009.
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Comments:
Thanks for sending this on, Paul. The most interesting thing I find: opting out of the settlement does not in any way guarantee that Google won’t go ahead and digitize anyway. From the Settlement website:
“By checking a box on the opt out page, however, the author or publisher can request that the Settlement Administrator ask Google not to digitize (or, if already digitized, not to display any contents from) the books or Inserts identified in the opt out form, Although Google has no obligation under the Settlement to comply with such request, Google has advised the Settlement Administrator that it is Google’s current policy to voluntarily honor such requests, if the books or Inserts are individually specified, are in copyright, and the author or publisher has a valid and unchallenged copyright interest in their books and Inserts.”
It would appear that this clause makes it possible for an author (or other copyright holder) to sue for statutory damages should Google go ahead and digitize a work that had been opted out. Or, is Google indemnified against this? Any insights on that?
Mia Amato