From Wall Street Journal Blogs
Amazon and Others Slam Revised Google Books Deal
By Jessica E. Vascellaro
Critics who blasted the first Google Books settlement have begun weighing in with objections to the modified agreement, which Google and authors sealed late last year to allay concerns that the first pact would give Google a monopoly in digital books.
Amazon.com, one of the most outspoken critics of the original settlement, Wednesday filed an objection to the revised one, raising many of the same objections it made to the first. In particular, the books giant argued that the agreement overreaches and violates the U.S. Copyright Act. “The (settlement) continues to give Google exclusive rights likely to lead to a monopoly,” it read.
U.C. Berkeley [School of Information] Professor Pam Samuelson submitted an objection on behalf of a group of academic authors. “We do not believe that the settlement of a class action lawsuit is a proper way to make such a profound set of changes in rights of authors and publishers, in markets for books, and procedures for resolving disputes as the (settlement) would bring about,” the letter read....