[LINK] google book search and the issue of a monopoly

[Jan Whitaker]

 From Publishers Marketplace newsletter:

Justice Department Looking at Antitrust Implications of Google Settlement
It's been pretty gray whether the judge presiding over the settlement 
of the Google Book Search settlement would have any compelling 
interest in the potential virtual monopoly that Google would be 
granted over electronic rights to orphan works, but now the Justice 
Department has opened an inquiry. The NYT says Justice notified the 
parties to the settlement "that they were investigating various 
antitrust issues related to the far-reaching agreement." The paper 
adds, "The inquiry does not necessarily mean that the department will 
oppose the settlement, which is subject to a court review. But it 
suggests that some of the concerns raised by critics, who say the 
settlement would unfairly give Google an exclusive license to profit 
from millions of books, have resonated with the Justice Department."

The 
<http://click.publisherslunchdaily.com/stun/redirect.php?u=NTAwNnwzNDQ4OXxqd2hpdEBqYW53aGl0YWtlci5jb218Mjg4OTIyfDc2MDIyMjM2fDQ2MjE3Ng==&id=1473448>WSJ 
has a similar story, concluding that "whether the Justice Department 
would seek to block the settlement, which is pending court approval, 
remains unclear."

The NYT also reports that "the Justice Department and the Federal 
Trade Commission have wrangled over jurisdiction over the book 
settlement, and the Justice Department won out, according to a person 
familiar with the inquiry."
<http://click.publisherslunchdaily.com/stun/redirect.php?u=NTAwNnwzNDQ4OXxqd2hpdEBqYW53aGl0YWtlci5jb218Mjg4OTIyfDc2MDIyMjM2fDQ2MjE3Ng==&id=1473449>NYT 


Judge Extends Google Settlement Deadlines by Four Months
Judge Denny Chin 
<http://click.publisherslunchdaily.com/stun/redirect.php?u=NTAwNnwzNDQ4OXxqd2hpdEBqYW53aGl0YWtlci5jb218Mjg4OTIyfDc2MDIyMjM2fDQ2MjE3Ng==&id=1473450>postponed 
the key dates for the settlement agreement in the Google Book Search 
case by four months. The deadline to opt-out of the settlement 
entirely is extended to September 4, as is the deadline for 
objections and amicus briefs. The fairness hearing will be held on October 7.

A new party has entered the scene as well. Yesterday a group of 
academic authors represented by Pamela Samuelson at the Berkeley 
School of Law had requested a six-month extension of the deadlines.




Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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