Concern the the Google-AAP settlement gives Google an unfair advantage wrt to orphan books and may inhibit scholarly access to these out-of-print works.
The Internet Archive asks the ruling judge to intervene in the settlement between Google and the AAP, claiming that Google will gain a monopoly on the use of orphan works.
Advocates of open access to orphan works cheered the rejection of the settlement, saying it could pave the way for legislation that would let anyone — not just Google — use the books..
“If Congress can wake up to the importance of this issue, there’s a good chance they will pass orphan books legislation, and they will do so in the interest of the general public, not favoring any enterprise,” said Robert Darnton, director of the Harvard University Library
The Authors Guild filed suit against five universities and the digital tower, called HathiTrust, that those universities created to preserve and make available to students and faculty scans of books from their collections.
Google and two author and publisher groups submitted a modified version of a controversial settlement over digital books, but it appears likely the fight over the agreement will continue." />