The Open Book Alliance (OBA) has released an analysis that details how the proposed Google Books Settlement is likely to violate international laws and treaties. Cynthia Arato, a litigator on intellectual property and copyright issues, states that numerous provisions of the proposed Google Books settlement would, if approved, violate the treaty obligations of the US. She further states that if the settlement is approved, it may give rise to legal action against the country before an international tribunal and would certainly expose the US to diplomatic stress.
According to OBA, this is the first time that the proposed class action settlement between Google, the Association of American Publishers and the Author's Guild has been fully evaluated. The analysis seeks to determine the claims and remedies that other nations may seek through the WTO for the violations that an approved Google Books Settlement is expected to incur.
Specifically, it was found that the settlement would grant Google automatic rights to exploit digitally millions of books without requiring the company to obtain any authorisation from any foreign copyright owner or author. It would also require these foreign rights holders to jump through burdensome hoops simply to exercise a watered-down contractual right - that the settlement creates - to halt such use, the study adds.
Foreign nations that wish to challenge the US over treaty violations of the settlement may do so before the WTO. Violations can lead to financial penalties or trade sanctions against the US. The governments of France and Germany have already formally objected to the proposed settlement.
The study further questions why the US ought to upset its foreign relations for the benefit of one company. Open collaboration that rejects exclusive deals is the best way to create a true international library, it concludes.
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