Hearing summary published for Google Book Settlement hearings

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By Paul Biba

The Association of Research Libraries has published a hearing summary on the House hearings about the Google Book Settlement. Here’s part of it:

The two major developments in the hearing were the Copyright Office’s blistering critique of the Settlement and Google’s announcement that it would allow other booksellers to sell access to out-of-print works it scans under the terms of the Settlement.

The hearing was somewhat sparsely attended by Committee members. In attendance were Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), ranking member Lamar Smith (R-TX), Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Mel Watt (D-NC), Howard Coble (R-NC), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Hank Johnson (D- GA), and Charles Gonzalez (D-TX).

The panel of witnesses was evenly divided on these issues, with four unequivocally in favor of the settlement, including representatives from Google and the Authors Guild. Three witnesses were unequivocally opposed, including Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters and a representative from Amazon.com. The eighth witness, law professor Randall Picker of the University of Chicago, was ambivalent and suggested several changes that he felt would cure potential problems with the Settlement. A complete list of witnesses appears on the last page of this summary, with hyperlinks to the written testimony of each witness.

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