Tag Archive | "Washington DC"
U.S. Urges Court To Reject Google Book Deal
John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog said he was pleased with the filing. "As the Justice brief makes clear, the proposed class-action settlement is monumentally overbroad and invites the court to overstep its legal jurisdiction, to the detriment of consumers and the public," Simpson said in an email.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Praises Department Of Justice Action In Google Books Case, Warns Major Issues Including Lack Of Privacy Guarantees Remain Problematic
Friday, September 18, 2009
SANTA MONICA, CA — Consumer Watchdog praised the U.S. Justice Department for objecting to the proposed Google Books settlement in a brief the department filed in U.S. District Court tonight. The nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer group had asked the Justice Department to intervene in the case on antitrust grounds last April. Justice announced it was investigating in July. Justice’s objections tonight went beyond antitrust concerns.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Tells Justice Any Google Deal Must Include Means Of Enforcement
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC -- Any plan offered by Google meant to overcome objections to the proposed Google Books settlement must include a “binding agreement with the full force of law,” Consumer Watchdog told the U.S. Justice Department today. Justice has until Friday to file its position on the books settlement with the court.
Continue reading...Google Books Settlement Facing Scrutiny
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Concerns center on possible monopoly, invasion of privacy John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a California-based non-profit, said a key problem is the unfair competitive advantage Google receives under the settlement that comes from its attempt to pull an end-run around the appropriate legislative solution to the orphan books problem. “This is not an issue for a court and certainly one that cannot be settled by solving the problem for one large corporation and no one else,” he said in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last week.
Continue reading...Lawmakers Created Google Settlement Mess, But Some Urge Staying Out Of It
Friday, September 11, 2009
By failing to pass orphan works legislation in previous sessions, Congress practically guaranteed a messy settlement would result from Google's scanning and display of millions of out-of-print works found only in libraries, several lawmakers said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday. Consumer Watchdog's John M. Simpson, perhaps Google's most vocal nonprofit critic in Washington, said the settlement "simply furthers the relatively narrow agenda" of Google, the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers. Congress should pass orphan-works or fair-use legislation, so Google won't get an "unprecedented monopolistic advantage" over some books.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Backs Digital Libraries, Opposes Google Books Settlement Deal
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Testimony Says Deal Violates Law, Is Anti-Competitive And Raises Privacy Concerns WASHINGTON, DC -- The proposed Google Books settlement should be rejected because it is anticompetitive, violates both U.S. and international law and raises substantial threats to privacy, Consumer Watchdog’s John M. Simpson told the House Judiciary Committee today.
Continue reading...Congressional Panel To Review Pros, Cons Of Google’s Book Deal With Authors, Publishers
Thursday, September 10, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Congressional committee will review the pros and cons of a class-action settlement that would give Google Inc. the digital rights to millions of copyrighted books that are no long being published. The antitrust concerns prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into whether the settlement will undermine competition. The Justice Department is scheduled to report some of its preliminary filings to Chin by Sept. 18. Other critics, including consumer watchdog groups and some library associations, are worried the deal will open a window on what kinds of books people are reading.
Continue reading...Flurry Of Last-Minute Objections to Google Book Project
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog warned that "if the settlement were approved, it would give Google a default monopoly to books for which the rightsholders cannot be located, resulting in unfair competitive advantages to Google in the search engine, electronic book sales, and other markets."
Continue reading...As Deadline Passes, NWU, Consumer Watchdog Join Google Books Objectors
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The National Writers Union and Consumer Watchdog were among those to file briefs urging rejection as the Google Book Search Settlement deadline officially passed this morning. Although the final lineup of objectors won’t be known until all the last-minute briefs have been processed by the court, the groups join DC Comics, The American Society of Journalists and Authors, a coalition of some 58 authors and the Open Book Alliance (which includes Google competitors Microsoft and Amazon.com) in urging the court to reject the proposed settlement.
Continue reading...Consumer Watchdog Urges Court To Reject Google Books Deal, Calls New Privacy Policy Inadequate
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Brief Argues Books Settlement Violates Both U.S. And International Copyright Law, Is Anticompetitive WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Consumer Watchdog today filed a brief urging a federal court to reject the proposed Google Books settlement because it is anticompetitive and violates both U.S. and international law. Separately, the consumer group called a Books privacy policy Google offered late last week inadequate.
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Friday, September 18, 2009
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