05/08, 9:43pm
Court examining merits of suit proceeding as class action or individual
A US federal appeals court has begun the discussion of whether plaintiffs in the Google e-book digitization project lawsuit should proceed as a class, or as individuals. The Authors Guild is claiming that the Google Books project is, in essence, copyright infringement on a massive scale -- and believes that a class of plaintiffs would squeeze more money out of the search engine giant more efficiently than separate suits, judged on individual merits.
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03/11, 9:44am
Publishers, Barnes & Noble issue complaints to ICANN
Amazon has received criticism over its attempts to register new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), in complaints sent to ICANN. The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers, and competitor Barnes & Noble have all objected to applications for the suffixes .book, .author, and .read, citing the potential abuse of Amazon's market position in using the new domain endings.
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10/11, 11:00pm
Ruling casts long shadow over Google versus The Authors Guild case
The Authors Guild has been dealt a second blow in one week in its legal fight with Google over book scanning. Just days after Google settled with a group of publishers ending one aspect of the battle, Federal Judge Harold Baer of the Southern District of New York has ruled that libraries who have given Google books to scan are protected by the "fair use" doctrine in US copyright law.
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08/29, 6:21pm
Parties cite Amazon investigation, bad DOJ market analysis
US District Court Judge Denise Cote of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, presiding over the Apple e-books pricing settlement case, has granted amici curiae, or friends of the court, status to two opposing parties. Writer's advocacy organization The Authors Guild and licensing expert Bob Kohn have been given permission to file an amicus brief with the court, decrying the proposed settlement, and pointing out what they see as flaws in the Department of Justice's arguments.
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08/03, 9:30pm
Over 20 million books scanned, payment would reach billions
The group of authors suing Google over the search engine's book digitization project has asked a US Federal District Court in New York to force payment of $750 per book it scanned for distribution. The Authors Guild spearheading the suit, led by president Scott Turow, argues that Google's effort does not constitute "fair use" under copyright law.
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05/03, 7:50pm
Google seeks to remove two groups from book-scanning suit
Search engine giant Google is seeking to have the Authors Guild and the American Society of Media Photographers removed from a half-decade-long lawsuit. In a process that began in February, Google attorney Daralyn Durie informed Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan federal court that authors and photographers would have better individual results on their own. Joanne Zack, the Authors Guild lawyer for the case, contested Google's claim. Judge Chin did not rule today on Google's petition.
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04/12, 10:25pm
Apple publicly responds to DOJ lawsuit
Apple after silence through the past two days responded Thursday to the Department of Justice lawsuit over alleged e-book pricing collusion. Spokesman Tom Neumayr flatly rejected the accusations when asked for comment by AllThingsD, recapping the company's objections to the European Union that the iBookstore was beneficial as it was created. The iPad-focused store kept Amazon from having excessive control and improved e-books themselves, Neumayr said, pointing out that the move beyond the Kindle format also upgraded books themselves.
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02/09, 10:25pm
Individual authors drop away from suit
Google is continuing to fight the Authors Guild in a lawsuit aimed at Google Books. After asking the court to remove the Authors Guild from the case, the search giant has submitted another filing that argues against class certification that is necessary to push the case forward as a class action suit on behalf of all copyright owners.
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12/23, 7:40pm
Google motions to clear book lawsuit of key agents
Google late Thursday put out a motion to toss associations from the publisher lawsuit targeting Google's proposal to get rights for Google Books. The search giant asked the judge to limit the lawsuit only to those who actually owned copyrights, ruling out groups like the Author's Guild as well as some individual authors and even photographers. The step would significantly limit the ability of the remaining groups to contest the case.
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12/13, 9:35pm
Move comes after negotiations fail to materialize
The Authors Guild has reportedly asked a New York federal court judge to certify the class of authors in a lawsuit against Google. The move is an essential step in transitioning toward a class-action lawsuit, which will push the longstanding dispute back into the courts after the search giant and trade group failed to reach a settlement agreement.
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06/01, 7:05pm
Google digital library plan still without deal
Publishers revealed Wednesday that they and Google had yet to reach a deal in the longstanding plan to create a digital library. The content creators' attorney Bruce Keller told Judge Denny Chin that all was still "on the table" and that no deal had been reached. Judge Chin gave an extra 60 days, until July 19, for both sides to come to terms.
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03/22, 5:05pm
Search giant said to receive too much power
Despite Google's recent move to amend its settlement with the Authors Guild, a New York district court has rejected the proposal and its revisions. The court argues that the amended settlement agreement (ASA) would still give Google too much power, particularly regarding the search giant's insistence on copying books without first receiving explicit approval from content owners.
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