The Department of Justice has released a brief stating that the Google Book Search Settlement should be rejected by the federal court overseeing its approval. “As presently drafted the proposed settlement does not meet the legal standards this court must apply,” the Department of Justice report concluded. “This court should reject the proposed settlement and encourage the parties to continue negotiations to comply with Rule 23 and the copyright and antitrust laws” but goes on to state that, “a properly structured settlement agreement in this case offers the potential for important societal benefits.”
The Department proposed that the parties consider a number of changes to the agreement, including:
* Imposing limitations on the most open-ended provisions for future licensing
* Eliminating potential conflicts among class members
* Providing additional protections for unknown rights holders
* Addressing the concerns of foreign authors and publishers
* Eliminating the joint-pricing mechanisms among publishers and authors, and
* Providing some mechanism by which Google’s competitors can gain comparable access.
