Time to Slow Down that Google Book Search Deal

As the proposed settlement by Google of a class-action lawsuit by authors over its Google Book Search rushes toward an impending judicial resolution, it’s become apparent that it’s time to pull the emergency brake on this one.

Memo to judge: “Slow it down, please! There is simply too much at stake here.”

Six weeks ago, I welcomed news of the settlement, mainly because it promised those of us who’ve authored out-of-print books a little cash ($60 per title), plus the enticement of seeing our pre-digital work finally join the online conversation of the 21st Century.

And, while it may be rare for this crusty old journalist to change his mind,  that’s exactly what happened as I was participating on a panel with lawyers and legal experts sponsored by California Lawyers for the Arts at the Golden Gate University’s School of Law in downtown San Francisco yesterday.

The proposed settlement is exceedingly complex, much too much so for me to address in a brief blog post, but thanks to one of yesterday’s panelists, Peter Brantley, who is Director of Access for the non-profit Internet Archive, you can view this succinct summary slide show of the case developed by U-C, Berkeley, Professor Pamela Samuelson, one of the top experts in the field.

Listening to my fellow panelists Brantley and Jerome Garchik, a lawyer who has often represented writers and artists in legal disputes, as well as moderator Marc H. Greenberg, esq. outline their objections to the settlement, I gradually began to realize that what Google and the groups who sued it are trying to pull off is a private, quick and dirty settlement of a dispute with enormous implications for the future of publishing in the digital age.

Besides the probability that Google will gain what is effectively a monopoly over the great majority of pre-digital books through its scanning program with major universities, this settlement proposes to award the lawyers who sued Google a scandalous $45.5 million in fees, which is more than all of the millions of authors affected by the case will receive as an entire class!

What we get, once it’s all been divvied up, and sliced and diced into author servings, is the equivalent of a mini dill pickle. That’s not kosher!

In fact, it’s highly questionable whether an issue of this magnitude should ever be decided by a class-action settlement between private parties mainly bent on enriching themselves and securing advantages, as opposed to in an open, robust debate by our legislators in full view of the public.

Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi, my representative in Congress, are you paying attention to this case? If not, it’s time for you to get personally involved.