US Copyright Office Criticizes Google Books Deal At Hearing
September 10 2009 - 11:46AM
Dow Jones News
The head of the U.S. Copyright Office told Congress on Thursday
that she had serious concerns about Google Inc.'s (GOOG) legal
settlement with authors and publishers who sought to block the
company from scanning books and making them searchable online.
Marybeth Peters, the register of copyrights, said in written
testimony before the House Judiciary Committee that the Copyright
Office was particularly concerned that the settlement would allow
Google to display and distribute out-of-print books without prior
consent from the copyright owners of those books.
"To allow a commercial entity to sell such works without consent
is an end-run around copyright law as we know it," Peters said.
"In the view of the Copyright Office, the settlement proposed by
the parties would encroach on responsibility for copyright policy
that traditionally has been the domain of Congress," she said.
Google reached the settlement deal last year, agreeing to pay
$125 million to establish a registry to allow authors and
publishers to register their works and get paid when their titles
are viewed online.
The settlement must be approved by a New York federal judge, who
has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 7 to consider the matter.
Supporters and critics of the settlement have flooded the court
with comments on the pending agreement.
Antitrust regulators at the U.S. Department of Justice also are
looking at the settlement. The judge has set a Sept. 18 deadline
for the department to file its views with the court.
The House Judiciary Committee heard Thursday from several
supporters and critics of the Google book search settlement.
Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, appeared before
the committee to defend the deal, saying the agreement was fully
compliant with copyright law.
Paul Misener, Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) vice president for global
public policy, continued the online bookseller's attack on the
settlement, telling Congress that the deal would have enduring
negative consequences for consumers and Google's competitors.
Amazon filed a brief in the New York court last week, arguing
that the agreement would increase how much consumers pay for
digital books and undermine Congress's role in amending copyright
law to address changes in technology.
-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222;
brent.kendall@dowjones.com