New York
– Several parties who had previously been opposed to Google’s (NASD: GOOG) settlement with
authors over the creation of a digital book index have removed their
opposition, saying they believe edits to the settlement have alleviated their
concerns.
The Authors Guild, a party to the settlement, said that the families
of author John Steinbeck and musician Woody Guthrie no longer oppose the deal.
Gail Steinbeck, the wife of John’s son Thomas, told The New York Times that
"the majority of the problems that we found troubling have been
addressed."
After the settlement was first announced in October 2008, a
range of critics emerged that included both authors and technology firms.
The
Justice Department also stepped in and voiced concerns in September, prompting
Google to work on a revised settlement proposal, which was submitted in
November.
The changes included a loosening of licensing restrictions on
Google’s index from third-party companies, and the creation of an independent
trustee to control the fate of orphaned copyrighted works.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u5sv4
(N.Y. Times)
http://snipurl.com/u5snm
(Wired.com)
