Open Book Alliance Releases Baseline Requirements for Revised Google Book
Settlement Proposal
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Like many others, the Open
Book Alliance awaits the release on November 9 of a revised proposed
settlement from Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American
Publishers. If repeated signals from Google and its partners over the last
month are to be taken at face value, we don't expect significant changes to
the earlier settlement proposal that was soundly rejected by the Department of
Justice and many others. "Settlement 2.0" is an opportunity to for Google and
its partners to make things right, and help bring about the mass digitization
of books in a way that embraces openness, competition and the public good.
The Open Book Alliance is issuing the following baseline requirements that the
new settlement proposal must meet if it is to achieve those critical
objectives. These requirements reflect the collective expression of concerns
by the U.S. Department of Justice, authors, publishers, academics, libraries,
foreign nations, state Attorneys General, consumer advocacy groups, and many
others, and thus we think it appropriate to review the revised settlement
within this framework. As we saw with the first attempt, a revised settlement
proposal that does not meet or exceed these requirements will threaten the
rights of all, the livelihoods of many, and the rule of law. If "Settlement
2.0" repeats the same fundamental flaws, it should meet the same fate as the
original settlement proposal.
-- The settlement must not grant Google an exclusive set of rights (de
facto or otherwise) or result in any one entity gaining control over
access to and distribution of the world's largest digital database of
books.
-- Authors and other rights holders must retain meaningful rights and the
ability to determine the use of their works that have been scanned by
Google.
-- The settlement must result in the creation of a true digital library
that grants all researchers and users, commercial and non-commercial,
full access that guarantees the ability to innovate on the knowledge
it
contains.
-- All class members must be treated equitably.
-- The settlement cannot provide for competition by making others engage
in
future litigation.
-- Congress must retain the exclusive authority granted by the U.S.
Constitution to set copyright policy.
-- All rights holders impacted by the settlement must have a meaningful
ability to receive notice, understand its terms and opt-out.
-- The parties that negotiated the settlement must live under the terms
to
which they seek to bind others, rather than their own separately
negotiated arrangements.
The Open Book Alliance is a coalition of librarians, legal scholars, authors,
publishers, and technology companies created to counter the proposed Google
Book Settlement The Open Book Alliance can be found online at
http://www.openbookalliance.org, and on Twitter @OBAlliance.
SOURCE Open Book Alliance
The Open Book Alliance, openbookalliancepress@yahoo.com
