At a 30-minute status conference held October 7, the parties involved in the Google Book Search Settlement signed off on a new schedule aimed at reaching a final agreement early in 2010.
November 9
Amended agreement to be filed with the court, to include amendments drafted to address concerns raised by the original settlement.
To Be Determined
Judge Denny Chin will accept only comments and/or objections pertaining to new provisions in the deal; the deadline for when comments must be filed will be part of the November 9 revised agreement.
Early January 2010
Tentative time for final hearing on amended agreement to be held.
June 5
New deadline for authors to file a claim to receive payment for books previously scanned by Google. Original date had been January 5.
The hearing also provided a glimpse into how far along the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers were in their lawsuits against Google before the settlement was reached. Asked by Judge Chin if it was necessary to think about setting up a discovery process in the event a final agreement wasn't reached, attorneys said that document discovery was almost completed, but that depositions would be needed.
