Request For Google Book Settlement Hearing Adjournment

The final fairness hearing of a class action lawsuit against Google related to its book-scanning project will likely be adjourned at the request of the plaintiffs, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers.

A memorandum in support of the motion to adjourn says that as of 8 September about 400 objections to the settlement agreement had been filed from both inside the United States and abroad, and that “the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice has been investigating the proposed settlement.” The hearing had originally been scheduled for 7 October.

The Justice Department, in its views on the case [pdf] filed 18 September, found fault with the settlement.

The 22 September memorandum says that Google did not oppose the adjournment, and requests a status conference on 6 November to discuss progress in negotiating an amended settlement agreement.

For further details of the case see IPW, Copyright Policy, 18 September 2009.