Inside Google

Press Release

Authors, Publishers Seek Delay In Google Case

CONTACT: Alex Pham

Two groups ask a federal judge for more time to address new issues in a settlement covering the firm’s digital library project. A hearing is set for Oct. 7, but they want it moved to Nov. 6.
 
Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group in Santa Monica, objected to the
"closed-door" nature of the negotiations with the Justice Department. "Key copyright issues must be settled by Congress in a fully public process," said John Simpson, a Consumer Watchdog spokesman.

Press Release

New Deal Sought In Dispute Over Google Book Plan

CONTACT: Larry Neumeister

Consumer Watchdog, a nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer advocacy group
that has asked the court to reject the settlement, said in a statement
that key copyright issues should be settled by Congress in a fully
public process. "Essentially Google and the authors and publishers groups are back at
square one and must re-negotiate the deal," said John M. Simpson, a
consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog who was one of eight witnesses
to testify about the deal to the House Judiciary Committee.

Press Release

Google Working To Modify Settlement, Publishers Say

CONTACT: Susan Decker and David Glovin

Google Inc. and groups of authors and publishers are working to modify a $125 million settlement to create a digital library following criticism from parties including the U.S. Justice Department, the groups said. “Google and the authors and publisher groups are back at square one,”
John Simpson, an advocate at Consumer Watchdog, a group in Santa
Monica, California, said in a statement.

Press Release

Justice Department Urges Judge To reject Google’s Digital Book Settlement

CONTACT: Alex Pham

Officials
cite concerns that the agreement with authors and publishers could run
afoul of antitrust and copyright laws. But they also propose
modifications to make the settlement pass muster.

In
recent months, many groups have voiced concerns over whether the
agreement would give Google too much pricing power and whether the
Mountain View, Calif., company would adequately safeguard reader
privacy. Consumer Watchdog praised the move by Justice
officials. "This is a victory for consumers and the broader public
interest," said a group advocate, John Simpson.

Press Release

Court Urged to Reject Google Deal

CONTACT: Cecilia Kang

Justice Dept. Cites Possible Copyright, Antitrust Violations

Critics of the agreement, including consumer groups and competitors
Amazon and Microsoft, argue that it would give Google near exclusive
licensing rights to millions of out-of-print books, potentially harming
consumers by giving the company exclusive control over prices for
digital books. "A single entity cannot be allowed to build a digital library based
on a monopolistic advantage," said John M. Simpson, a consumer advocate
with public interest group Consumer Watchdog.

Press Release

DOJ Urges Court To Reject (Unedited) Googlebooks Pact

CONTACT: Cade Metz

Concerns Over Class Action, Copyright, Antitrust Law

The DoJ was also praised by the consumer watchdog known as Consumer
Watchdog, a notorious thorn in Google’s side. But the watchdog argues
that even if the DoJ’s concerns are alleviated, the court should reject
the settlement. "Solving the antitrust problem is only [part] of the
problem,” said Consumer Watchdog’s John Simpson.

Press Release

DOJ Asks Court to Reject Google Book Search, Pending Changes

CONTACT: Clint Boulton

The Department of Justice said the Google Book Search settlement would violate class action, copyright and antitrust law and said it should not be approved without changes. Consumer advocates were joyous about the DOJ’s finding: "This is a victory for consumers and the broad public
interest," said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with Consumer
Watchdog. "Consumer Watchdog supports digitization and digital
libraries in a robust competitive market open to all organizations,
both for-profit and non-profit, that offer fundamental privacy
guarantees to users. But a single entity cannot be allowed to build a
digital library based on a monopolistic advantage when its answer to
serious questions from responsible critics boils down to: ‘Trust us.
Our motto is "Don’t be evil."’"

DOJ Urges Changes To Google Book Deal

Andrew Noyes

The
Open Book Alliance, a group formed by interests who oppose the current
settlement plan, said it was pleased with DOJ’s action. Making books
searchable, readable and downloadable can unlock huge amounts of
cultural knowledge but the arrangement as drafted is the wrong way to
go about making that promise a reality, the group said. One of Google’s
chief critics, a nonprofit called Consumer Watchdog, said even if DOJ’s
concerns are addressed, the settlement should not be implemented.

Press Release

U.S. Urges Court To Reject Google Book Deal

CONTACT: Diane Bartz

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.

Press Release

DOJ: Court Should Reject Google Book Search Settlement

CONTACT: Juan Carlos Perez

The U.S. Department of Justice has come out against the proposed
agreement to settle copyright lawsuits that authors and major
publishers filed against Google over the search company’s book search
program. Consumer Watchdog, a
consumer protection organization that earlier this year urged the DOJ
to get involved, filed a 30-page document opposing the agreement,
saying it will "strip rights from millions of absent class members,
worldwide, in violation of national and international copyright law,
for the sole benefit of Google. There should be a competitive book-search market, while the U.S.
Congress must solve the orphan works problem. The parties simply cannot justify this ‘solution’ which does not
adequately protect the Rightsholders and unfairly benefits a single
party," reads the Consumer Watchdog statement.