tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post6908859894621233419..comments2024-01-20T00:59:08.689+00:00Comments on Brave New World: Is GBS The Best of a Bad Job?Martyn Danielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134633193540004531noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post-66200491184125241902009-05-04T23:42:00.000+00:002009-05-04T23:42:00.000+00:00I'm one of the seven authors whose letter to the c...<B>I'm one of the seven authors whose letter to the court led to the four-month delay.</B> Since the others include writers as well known as John Steinbeck, I tell friends that I was added to represent the large, "Who's he?" class of writers. As Lincoln said about the common people, there are a lot of us.<br /><br />As you point out, the delay has transformed the game, ending what seemed to be an easy end run around Congress for Google. Opponents now have more time to act and doubters more time to think. Professional bodies representing libraries and giant corporations the size of Google move slowly, but they have begun to move.<br /><br />Two weeks ago, the only hope for many European writers was an unpleasant, after-the-fact reaction by their governments. Now there's a possibility that European officials will cite well-established treaties to challenge key provisions in the settlement. <br /><br />European writers have good reason to oppose this settlement. Far too little has been said about a key provision, one Google mentions in their FAQ. The automatic opt-in for copyright holders who do nothing applies to virtually every copyright holder in any country that has a copyright agreement with the U.S., which is virtually every country in the world. I briefly describe why at:<br /><br />http://www.InklingBooks.com/<br /><br /><B>If they do nothing, writers around the world will eventually discover that, without their knowledge or consent, this settlement gave Google permission to use their copyrighted materials online and stripped them of the right to sue for infringement in U.S. courts.</B>Those who'd like to examine the key legal documents in this dispute and find links to what is happening in Europe can visit a webpage I've established for posting such things.<br /><br />http://inklingbooks.com/googlesettlement/googlesettlement.html<br /><br />Hopefully, soon there will be an English-language, European-based website covering this dispute. I'm too far away and too linguistically challenged to do it myself.<br /><br />--Michael W. Perry, SeattleMichael W. Perryhttp://inklingbooks.com/googlesettlement/googlesettlement.htmlnoreply@blogger.com