The Monopoly Continues

When it comes to the Google Books settlement, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The latest revision still provides Google with the power to squelch competitors and own orphan works. Already, many of have questioned whether the Department of Justice will be comfortable with the minimal concessions announced on Friday.

Google chose to release its amended settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers at nearly midnight eastern time on Friday. But, it didn’t matter whether the settlement was announced at 2pm or 2am, the facts are still the same. Google is positioning itself to solely own the digital rights of nearly every book copyrighted under U.S. law.

There is no question that a 700+ page settlement is going to contain some changes. However, the focus needs to remain on the lack of changes that address the fundamental flaws of the original settlement. Despite the well-crafted blog and backgrounders released by Google in concert with settlement, the revised settlement does not benefit the public at-large and breaks copyright laws.

The National Writers Union said that “Google scanned more than 10 million books without permission of the copyright owners. The Goliath of advertising-supported search – which enjoyed a net income of more than $4.5 billion last year – still wants to pay writers as little as $60 per book to forgive the infringement and to cede control over future exploitation of their works.”

And, it appears the money making machine will continue to work overtime if the settlement is approved. We’ve heard Google boast about the major changes to how it will deal with orphan works and the creation of an Unclaimed Works Fiduciary to set terms on their behalf. But, as New York Law School Professor James Grimmelman points out, “Settlement 2.0 confirms that Google will have the only game in town for the unclaimed works.”

The OBA looks forward to evolving the conversation in days and upcoming weeks away from “spin”  to substance, participating in a thorough and open public review of what the ramifications of the latest amended settlement really are.