Wasoff Highlights Major Developments in Google Settlement
The year-long controversy over the proposed Google Book Settlement has suddenly taken a new direction that may result in substantial changes to the original agreement, according to industry expert Lois Wasoff. Wasoff provided an in-depth update this week during the sixth installment of an online informational series on the settlement, hosted by Copyright Clearance Center.
Wasoff is a highly regarded copyright law and publishing attorney who advises a wide range of publishing companies and non-profit organizations on intellectual property matters. She explained to a worldwide audience of webinar participants that just four days after the U.S. government filed a “Statement of Interest” raising significant concerns over aspects of the proposed settlement agreement, and advising the judge overseeing the case to reject it in its current form, representatives of the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, with the agreement of Google, have filed a motion to adjourn the Fairness Hearing currently scheduled for October 7th.
“We basically had a game-changing development yesterday as we have now learned that negotiations are underway to revise the terms of the agreement in a way that addresses the antitrust, class action, copyright, funding and public policy concerns that have emerged since the original settlement agreement was announced nearly one year ago,” said Wasoff. “There have been a number of challenges to that agreement – ranging from Microsoft and Amazon to six state attorneys general – but none have been as significant as the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed a Statement of Interest on September 18th that asserted the agreement could violate antitrust law.”
According to Wasoff, the settlement parties stipulated in yesterday’s brief filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that they’re committed to working with the Department of Justice to come up with a new version of the settlement agreement that the government will approve.
“The key parties to the Google Book Settlement will try to put together a new agreement and have asked the court to schedule a status hearing on November 6th to discuss progress made during continuing negotiations on adjusted terms of the settlement,” said Wasoff.
