A federal judge set a Nov. 9 deadline Wednesday for submission of a revised agreement in the battle over Google Inc.’s effort to get digital rights to millions of out-of-print books. Then the debate over the fairness of the plan will resume.
As currently written, the controversial settlement between Google and groups representing publishers and authors is officially dead. On Thursday, a federal judge gave the parties time to negotiate a new deal that would address some of the many objections filed by various groups.
The U.S. Justice Department advised a federal judge Friday that a proposed legal settlement giving Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books threatens to thwart competition and drive up prices unless it’s revised.
A federal judge must now begin untangling the competing claims about the effects of an agreement granting Google the right to create the world?s largest digital library and bookstore.
Online bookseller Amazon.com Inc. is warning a federal judge that Internet search leader Google Inc. will be able to gouge consumers and stifle competition if it wins court approval to add millions more titles to its already vast digital library.
A group of authors and the heirs of others, including representatives of the estate of John Steinbeck, and of the musician Arlo Guthrie, are asking a federal judge to delay by four months the deadline for authors to decide whether or not to participate in the class action settlement of landmark lawsuit against Google.
