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Michael Healy Joining Copyright Clearance Center
With the Google Book Settlement all but dead, another sign that the market is moving on: This morning, the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) confirmed that Michael Healy, former executive director (designate) for the Google Settlement's proposed Book Rights Registry, is joining CCC.
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Peter Brantley: Collective Licensing and Orphan Works in Europe
Olav Stokkmo, president of IFFRO (the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations) suggests that a recent Memorandum of Understanding in the EU could solve the problem of orphan works through collective licensing. But is collective licensing really a solution to the orphan works issue? Peter Brantley weighs in.
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Authors Guild Suit Against Libraries Not Related (Enough) to Keep its Judge
In yet another twist, judge Denny Chin, who is still sitting by designation in the Google Book case, has declined to take the Authors Guild’s recent suit filed against a group of research libraries. The case was referred to Chin as “possibly related,” as the case revolves around fair use and Google’s library book scanning project.
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Google Settlement Parties Pursue Separate Deals
After nearly three years stumping together to get the Google Book Settlement approved, the parties in the scuttled deal are headed for litigation. At a September 15 status conference, attorneys told Judge Chin that talks were progressing raising the likelihood that the authors’ and publishers’ cases would soon be split.
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Authors Guild Sues Libraries
With the Google Book Search Settlement in tatters, its fragile alliance splintering, and the parties now on a pretrial schedule, the Authors Guild last week expanded its infringement claims by suing a consortium of university libraries over a digital library initiative.
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HathiTrust Suspends Its Orphan Works Release
Following the filing of a lawsuit over its scanning and orphan works initiative, HathiTrust this morning said it would suspend indefinitely its plan to release a set of 140 orphan works until is processes for determining copyright status are improved.
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Judge Adopts Trial Schedule At Google Status Conference, but Settlement Talks Continue
The Google Books case is headed to litigation. At a status conference Thursday, Judge Denny Chin adopted a proposed trial schedule that, if followed, would have the case ready for trial by July 2012. But the conference also offered a ray of hope, as attorneys said that settlement talks were progressing
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Authors Guild Sues Libraries Over Scan Plan
With the Google Settlement poised to meet its ultimate demise as early as Thursday, when the parties are scheduled to appear before Judge Denny Chin for a status conference, the Authors Guild yesterday filed a new lawsuit against a consortium of university libraries over a digitization initiative known as HathiTrust.
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Authors Guild Sues University Libraries
With the Google Settlement in tatters, and the case expected to soon head back to litigation, the Authors Guild has announced that it has doubled down on its infringement claims by suing a consortium of university libraries over its digital initiative known as HathiTrust.
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Second Circuit Copyright Ruling Could Affect Libraries
Librarians say their core activities are in question after the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision finding that the “First Sale” doctrine in U.S. copyright law—the provision that enables libraries to lend books they’ve purchased—does not apply to works manufactured outside the U.S.
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With the Freelance Settlement Rejected, What's Next?
On August 17, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals sent the parties in the long-running class action suit known shorthand as Freelance back to the drawing board, rejecting an $18 million settlement struck in 2005.
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More Lawsuits Over Agency Model
A class action lawsuit over e-book pricing filed against five major publishers and Apple has begun to sprawl, with four new "copycat" lawsuits filed last week. Two suits, filed in Manhattan, add Random House as a defendant, while a third suit, also in Manhattan, adds Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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Second Circuit Rejects "Freelance" Settlement
A two-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday rejected an $18 million settlement in the long-running class action suit filed by freelance writers following the landmark Tasini case, and in the process have likely killed the chances of a revised settlement in the Google Books case.
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With Final Filings, Parties in GSU E-Reserve Case Await Verdict
The parties in the closely-watched e-reserves trial at Georgia State University have filed what are likely to their final documents, and a verdict by federal judge Orinda Evans could come any day.
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The Breakup: Are the Google Settlement Parties Headed for Splitsville?
Breaking up is hard to do, and for the parties in the Google Books litigation a potentially messy breakup looms. Can these factions make enough progress on a revised settlement agreement in the next six weeks to avoid that fate?
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Citing Wal-Mart, Objector Files Brief Challenging Google Settlement Status
After judge Denny Chin gave the parties in the Google Books litigation until September 15 to come back with a revised settlement, an objector asked the court to drop the class-action status of the suit, based on the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes et al.
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Judge Concerned with Lack of Progress in Revised Google Settlement Talks
Lawyers for the parties in the Google Book Settlement asked U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin for more time to negotiate a revised deal but, in sharp contrast to the last meeting, Chin expressed "concern" about the lack of progress and wondered whether there was in fact a deal to be made.
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Revised Google Settlement Can Wait—But Can Judge Chin?
What’s going on with a revised Google Settlement? Some talking, but probably not very much progress, say court-watchers, noting that the odds of seeing a revised settlement proposal in 2011 may be long.
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Arguments in GSU E-Reserves Trial Conclude; Judge Deals Publishers a Quick Loss on One Count
The closely-watched Georgia State University e-reserves trial wrapped up in Atlanta Wednesday, with closing arguments by both sides. Judge Orinda Evans will now decide the case, following two scheduled rounds of post-trial filings, due on July 15, and July 22. But in a setback for publishers, Evans will decide the case on a single claim of “indirect liability” after granting a defense motion for a “directed verdict” that in effect dismissed publishers’ contributory infringement claim (although it is subject to appeal). In granting the defendant’s motion for a directed verdict, Evans for all intents and purposes ruled that publishers failed to present a contributory infringement claim upon which they could prevail.
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No Progress on Google Book Settlement Talks;Tone Changing?
At a status hearing that lasted all of five minutes, attorney Bruce Keller told Judge Chin that no decisions have been reached on any key issues in the Google Book Settlement, but that the parties still hoped to see if an amicable resolution is possible. Keller, representing the publishers, was the only one to speak at the hearing and said he spoke for all parties, which also includes Google and the Authors Guild. Keller asked Chin for another 60 days to continue to negotiate. Chin, saying he understood it was a complicated issue, set the next status hearing for July 19.
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