Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy
What I'm a little confused about is that if you were not part of the Plaintiffs, then how does this settlement apply?
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It's how class action lawsuits work. Per the FAQ on the settlement:
"Who is included in this Settlement? The class consists of all persons and entities that, as of January 5, 2009, own a U.S. copyright interest in one or more Books or Inserts that are "implicated by a use" authorized by the Settlement.... If you remain in the class [i.e. did not opt out by 9/4/09], you will be bound by any judgment or determination of the Court in connection with the Settlement, whether favorable or unfavorable."
I.e.
any author whose book is published before 1/5/09 and was/is scanned by Google is automatically included, unless they opted out by today. The only way you can start your own lawsuit is if you opted out (or if the settlement is killed).
The "class" in this case is
not limited to the listed plaintiffs; they're just acting on behalf of the class. There is no limitation of the Settlement to just the members of the Author's Guild or AAP.
Keeping in mind that I am not a litigator
: Such is the nature of a class action lawsuit. The idea is to streamline litigation, reduce court time and costs, relieve witnesses from participating in numerous near-identical trials, and avoid a situation where a plaintiff would receive conflicting requirements or instructions from multiple courts and/or decisions.
One aspect I missed though: In going over the FAQ, authors
do have the option to ask Google not to include their books in the project even if they opted in to the Settlement (by choice or by not taking action). Presumably this will also allow the author / publisher to negotiate individually with Google for compensation rates. The main element is that after today, if you didn't opt out then you lose the right to sue Google for copyright infringement, if the settlement goes through.
So it's not quite as bad as I thought, but the fundamental issue remains that it does apparently create a special exemption for Google and tramples the author's and publisher's copyrights. I'm sure the situation can be salvaged somehow, and things could be worse, but I don't think this settlement is the best answer that can be reached.