Critics tell judge to reject Google books settlement

Critics of Google's settlement with book authors and publishers over digital book rights say a revised deal by the parties falls short.

Late Wednesday, groups including the Internet Archives filed comments to a New York federal court. Some say the deal still gives Google too much power over millions of book titles, violates copyright laws, and unfairly edges out competitors. Thursday is the deadline set by the court for public comment on the deal. Peter Brantley, a member of IA and co-founder of the Open Book Alliance, said that revisions brought before a federal judge still give exclusive rights to Google. "There were some cosmetic changes but the substance is the same in that it imposes a Google monopoly and violates laws," he said. Brantley was in Washington last week meeting with lawmakers to talk about the deal. In its filing, IA said it was concerned that the settlement would give Google exclusive rights over so-called orphan works, out-of-print books whose owners are not known or can't be found. Competitors, meanwhile, could be sued by those rights holders for scanning and publishing the works but Google would be protected from liability.