An article by Chris Walters appears in today’s Booksprung, which consists of his notes on the Google Book Search settlement workshop yesterday hosted by the National Writer’s Union (NWU), the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). The workshop’s panel included representatives of those organizations as well as an agent, a professor who has been studying the issue, and the executive director of the Authors Guild, which is one of the primary parties involved in the settlement.
Two of the lawyers on the panel seemed to think that the Settlement won’t survive an appeal. That would be my own legal judgement as well. I just can’t imagine an appeals court thinking that this is a proper case for a class action. However, one thing I’ve learned in 40-some years of lawyering – you can’t look for logic or good sense in the law.
