Back in March, Gina Durham and I co-wrote a blog post about the Google Book Settlement rejection. We’ve since fleshed out our ideas for the CPI Antitrust Chronicle, an online publication with cutting-edge commentary on current global antitrust and competition policy issues. We hope you enjoy!
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In March of this year, the District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected the proposed settlement of legal claims arising from Google’s digitization of books and online display of excerpts in a class action copyright infringement suit brought by the Authors Guild and others against Google. While the court acknowledged that “the digitization of books and the creation of a universal digital library would benefit many” and found that the majority of factors favored approval, it ultimately determined that the proposed settlement was not fair, adequate, and reasonable. Since then, the fate of the settlement has been in limbo. As of this publication, it remains far from certain as to whether and how a deal may be struck that addresses competition concerns while balancing the other interests of the relevant stakeholders.
Click here to read the entire article: The Google Book Settlement & the Uncertain Future of Copyright