Settlement Announced in the Google Print Library Project
A settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuit brought by the Authors Guild against Google in 2005, otherwise known as the Google Print Library Project. (See
http://www.gag.org/activities/advocacy_materials/searchable_books.php for background information)
Briefly, in December 2004 Google (the internet search engine) entered into an agreement with 5 libraries (the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Oxford, and The New York Public Library) to digitally scan library books and make them searchable online. Google set up scanning centers to facilitate this. The books that were to be scanned are owned by the libraries, and the digital text files were to be translated by OCR (optical character recognition) software and stored on Google's servers. The libraries were not seeking permission from authors or publishers to scan the books and make them available in digital format. Needless to say, many of these books contain images (illustrations and photographs) and it was unknown if the images would heve been identified, cataloged, and referenced.
Although we haven't had a chance to talk with Paul Aiken, Executive Director of the Authors Guild, and to go over all the documents and what it will mean for the future, we thought it was important to let everyone know that a settlement had been reached.
Click here for a PDF of the message the Authors Guild President, Roy Blount, Jr., sent to the Authors Guild membership regarding the settlement.
Also, here's the link to the Authors Guild settlement resource page, http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/articles/settlement-resources.html.
We'll keep you posted.
Thanks.
Tricia McKiernan
Executive Director
The Senate passed S. 2913 –The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 - by “hotline” on Friday, September 26, 2008
Representative Berman still intends to release the mark-up of his bill, HR 5889. Either the House version of Orphan Works legislation, H.R. 5889, or the Senate version, S. 2913, will become law. There are no other possible outcomes. The Guild continues to support Rep. Berman’s House bill, H.R. 5889.
The Graphic Artists Guild is urging all members and other artists to support H.R. 5889, because the bill includes a Notice of Use provision that includes a procedural “speed bump” for potential infringers. The Guild and other visual creators' organizations have fought for inclusion of the Notice of Use and other clauses in Orphan Works legislation. The Notice of Use stipulation requires users to file their intent to use a suspected orphan work, prior to using it, in an archive maintained by the US Copyright Office or other sanctioned entity.
The Notice of Use clause is a non-negotiable and vital provision to provide artists some protection in the future. The Graphic Artists Guild will not support any legislation that does not have this key protection. The Guild urgently encourages artists to join us in our effort to ensure House lawmakers pass H.R. 5889 as it's currently drafted with the Notice of Use provision.
Members of the American Library Association are urging the House to adopt the Senate bill. We must counter their messages!
We have provided a letter for you to your Representative in the House through our Capwiz portal. Please act now!
To use this letter-writing portal, click on the “Action Alerts” box, read the release, then enter your zip code and click on "GO" for a sample letter to use. You may also personalize your own letter. The letter will automatically be emailed to the US House. We recommend you also print out the letter and mail it.
Thank you for taking action!
To learn more click here.
For background information on the Orphan Works issue,visit our Orphan Works blog at www.orphanworksnews.com.
Thanks to all who attended the May 5, 2008, Orphan Works conference call and to those who emailed in their questions. We had some really good questions and our lobbyist,Megan Gray, did a great job of making a complicated issue understandable.
For anyone who's interested in listening to the call, dial (712) 432-1284, enter access code 953763#, and the recording will playback.
We're working on getting an audio link posted, but that may take a little longer than we anticipate.
Greetings From the Guild President
July, 08 Message from President John Schmelzer. Click
here.
Everyone
is proud of their Guild Lapel Pins! Show your pride. Purchase
your Graphic Artists Guild Lapel Pins today for $10 (includes
tax, shipping and handling). Just send a check, made out to the
Graphic Artists Guild, to Mark Monlux, 7622 S. Yakima Ave.
Tacoma, WA 98408-5315. Purchase a lot of 10 for the price of eight.
to become involved. 
