On March 22, 2011, after two years of debate, Judge Denny Chin rejected the Google Book Settlement.  The controversy began in 2004 when Google entered into agreements with several research libraries to digitally copy books and other writings, but did not receive permission from the copyright owners to scan the books.  This promoted The Authors Guild to institute a class action against Google.  While a proposed settlement was filed in 2010, it drew many objections from putative class members.  After a fairness hearing on February 18, 2010, Judge Chin rejected the proposed settlement as not being fair, adequate, and reasonable pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.

The rejection came after a number of objections were submitted, which cited copyright, antitrust, and international law concerns.  In a 48-page opinion, Judge Chin explained that the proposed settlement would give Google the ability to exploit books without the explicit permission of copyright owners.  He stated that it would give Google a significant advantage over other competitors, and would arguably give it control over the search market for books.  Judge Chin also expressed concerns over the “opt-out” provisions of the settlement, which would not be in congruence with current copyright laws.  However, he did indicate that he would consider a revised agreement that would better protect copyright owners.

While the proposed settlement would have avoided potential costly litigation, it was most likely the correct decision.  The opt-out system that the settlement created exempted Google from future infringements that some authors may not be aware of as of now.  Such protection would definitely contribute to Google’s monopoly over the digitization of books and would potentially affect authors that were not adequately represented by the class representatives.  While Google may not see an opt-in system as an option, it may be necessary to avoid further litigation.

For more on this story read “Six Reasons Google Books Failed” by Robert Darnston at http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2011/mar/28/six-reasons-google-books-failed/.

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