Re: Authors, publishers, settle suit with Google

[richards1000@comcast.net]

It might be helpful to set out the authorities.  The settlement 
agreement 
<http://books.google.com/booksrightsholders/agreement-contents.html> 
sec. 1.142 defines the "Settlement Class" as "all Persons that, 
as of the Notice Commencement Date, have a Copyright Interest in 
one or more Books or Inserts."  I believe the statutory basis for 
the U.S. copyright interests owned by non-U.S. authors and 
publishers is sections 104 and 104A of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 
U.S.C. sec. 104-104A (2000 & Supp. V 2005).

Robert C. Richards, Jr., J.D.*, M.A., M.S.L.I.S.
Philadelphia, PA
E-mail: richards1000@comcast.net
* Admitted to practice in New York only

-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Harper, Georgia K" <gharper@austin.utexas.edu>

> I understand it to apply to any US copyright interest, including
> those owned by foreign authors and publishers by virtue of the
> GATT. Thus, a foreign author's US copyright interest in a book
> that was published in Brazil, but not subsequently published here
> within 30 days of foreign publication (i.e., a book in University
> of Texas' Benson Latin American Collection, which Google is
> digitizing), can be seen here in the default 20% view mode, can
> be purchased, etc. and the moneys go to Google and the Registry,
> and the Registry money goes to the foreign author, if he/she
> registers with the Registry to claim it. The notice that is going
> out to call authors to come forward (assuming court approval) is
> going out all over the world because all authors/publishers
> (copyright owners) of foreign works have US copyright interests
> in their works that were still protected in the publication
> country in 1996 for the full term of a comparable US copyright,
> in the US.
>
> Ironically, that same Brazilian author won't see his/her work in
> anything more than snippet view in Brazil, nor will the book be
> for sale there, until Google has negotiated a deal with the
> Brazilian collective rights organization and the Brazilian
> government (or some such arrangement). We agonized over this
> discrepancy in deciding whether to support the deal, as so much
> of our readership for the Benson Collection is foreign. But in
> the end, the potential for creating a more workable path out of
> obscurity for orphan works was compelling.
>
> Extremely complicated deal. Only a first little (well not so
> little) step down a very interesting and very long path.
>
> Georgia Harper
>
>
> On 11/3/08 5:36 PM, "Lesley Harris" wrote:
>
> The settlement was in response to 2 law suits against Google in
> 2005, by the Authors Guild and the American Association of
> Publishers -- so the settlement can only apply to the law suits
> and these U.S. groups.
>
> Lesley Ellen Harris
> lesley @ copyrightlaws.com
> www.copyrightanswers.blogspot.com