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ASCAP For Books

ASCAP for books? Galley Cat reports that is what the Authors Guild is calling for.

Jan Constantine, General Counsel of the Authors Guild, testified before the House Judiciary Committee this week where she argued that Congress should help establish “a collective licensing organization to deal with both mass digitization and “orphan” books.” The idea, she argued, “would pave the way for a true national digital library.”

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Orphan Works, Again

The Authors Guild claims that discovering the copyright owners of orphan works is not nearly as difficult as, say, Google claims, and cites European experience, among other things. Publishers Weekly has the story, incldung this:

Constantine emphasized that collective licensing would be solely for display rights for out of print books, “to avoid disrupting commercial markets.” In fact she said “foreign licensing and collecting organizations have been efficiently licensing orphan works for decades. We should learn from their examples.”

Google, Viacom, YouTube

A copyright infringment case dating from 2007 and involving Google, Viacom, and YouTube has been settled without money changing hands.

The case had addressed a key question for the digital age: should networks be responsible for proactively guarding against infringement on their sites, or must rights holders be forced to send DMCA takedown notices in "whack-a-mole" fashion to stop unauthorized uses?

And:

While the settlement does not directly affect the book business, copyright experts have seen the case as a test of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's "safe harbor" provision, which can shield Internet service providers from liability for the infringing behavior of its users—including those who might post unauthorized portions or entire books online.

Inadequate Canadian Copyright Protection?

The AAP, the Association of American Publishers, questions whther the revsion of copyright law in Canada offers adequate copyright protection. Publishers Weekly explores the story.

Scribd & Copyright

Publishers Weekly reports on the ongoing exchange between Scribd and Writer Beware. Essentially Writer Beware feels that Scribd is using copyright material to draw in customers. Scribd claims to be doing its best and hoping to do better.

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Scribd and Piracy: What Are They Doing To Stop It?

Authors Guild Files Again

Formal paperwork is underway for an appeal of Judge Chin's ruling in the Google copyright case. Publishers Weekly explains.

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GSU Verdict: Appeals, Questions

The latestround of judical thinking has produced a series of comments hostile to GSU's position. Comment seemed to center on GSU's history of producing coursepacks without seeking permissions from publishers. Publishers Weekly has news and links.

Copyright Clearance Center Hits New Payout High

The nonprofit Copyright Clearance Center has set a new record for payouts, according to Publishers Weekly. An article by Kevin Smith cites this and explores the whys and wherefores of the ongoing suit against Georga State University for copyright infringment form the point of view of a university officer.

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Fair Use

Is That the Light at the End of the—

Tunnel? It looks like the Google book scanning trial may be about ready to wrap up. Publishers Weekly details what's going on as things start to wind down.

Authors Guild Asks Judge to Wait

The Authors Guild has asked the judge in the google book scanning case to wait for Congress to act, rather than make a decision that would establish precedents. Publishers Weekly has the story.