[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #263: Google Books project is back in the legal news

[Editor]

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/>
OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #263: Google Books project is back in the legal news
January 4th, 2012

<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/gavel3.png>You 
may recall from an earlier 4cast <http://www.oplin.org/4cast/?p=2076> 
that the law suit against the Google Books project had its ups and downs 
last year. It looks like things are going to heat up again in 2012, and 
we may possibly see a resolution of the question as to whether or not 
Google's library book scanning project violates the provisions of 
copyright law. We might also see some parties - like publishers - 
reaching a settlement with Google, while others - like authors - do not. 
Whatever happens, there will be interesting implications for ebooks and 
copyright.

    * Authors Guild files for class certification in Google case
      <http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/49843-authors-guild-files-for-class-certification-in-google-case.html>
      (Publishers Weekly/Andrew Albanese) "The filing is the first step
      in the next incarnation of the long-running legal drama over
      Google's program to scan library books to create an online index,
      and could ultimately lead to a ruling as to whether Google's book
      scanning amounts to copyright infringement."
    * Class action filed in Google Books case
      <http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Class-Action-Filed-in-Google-Books-Case-79495.asp>
      (Information Today/George H. Pike) "With the filing, the authors
      are asking the court to move the case forward as a class action
      lawsuit, with the guild and authors representing a class of
      thousands or more individual authors. This could increase the
      possibility of significant damages against Google if they are
      found to have infringed on the authors' copyrights."
    * Google tries to kick Authors Guild out of court in book case
      <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/12/google-tries-to-kick-authors-guild-out-of-court-in-book-case.ars>
      (Ars Technica/Timothy B. Lee) "Google asked Judge Chin to boot the
      associations from the courtroom, arguing that copyright
      infringement lawsuits must be filed by copyright holders
      themselves, not associations claiming to represent them. If
      successful, the motion would leave the individual plaintiffs to
      carry on the lawsuits on their own, weakening the plaintiffs'
      position."
    * Google wants groups removed from Books lawsuits
      <http://www.pcworld.com/article/246972/google_wants_groups_removed_from_books_lawsuits.html>
      (PC World/Stephen Lawson) "Google did not file a similar motion to
      dismiss the lawsuit by the Association of American Publishers. The
      company is believed to be closer to reaching a settlement
      <http://www.pcworld.com/article/240108/discussions_continue_in_google_books_lawsuit_attorneys_say.html>
      with the plaintiffs in that case."

*/Legal fact:/*

The "Google Books case" actually includes three separate lawsuits 
against Google: one by the Authors Guild, one by the Association of 
American Publishers (both filed in 2005), and one filed later (in 2010) 
by the American Society of Media Photographers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The */OPLIN 4cast/* is a weekly compilation of recent headlines, topics, 
and trends that could impact public libraries. You can subscribe to it 
in a variety of ways, such as:

    * *RSS feed.* You can receive the OPLIN 4cast via RSS feed by
      subscribing to the following URL:
      http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2.
    * *Live Bookmark.* If you're using the Firefox web browser, you can
      go to the 4cast website (http://www.oplin.org/4cast/) and click on
      the orange "radio wave" icon on the right side of the address bar.
      In Internet Explorer 7, click on the same icon to view or
      subscribe to the 4cast RSS feed.
    * *E-mail.* You can have the OPLIN 4cast delivered via e-mail (a'la
      OPLINlist and OPLINtech) by subscribing to the 4cast mailing list
      at http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast.


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20120104/3ac1a7a6/attachment-0001.html
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: kubrickheader.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 38379 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20120104/3ac1a7a6/kubrickheader-0001.jpg
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: gavel3.png
Type: image/png
Size: 19042 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20120104/3ac1a7a6/gavel3-0001.png