Authors and Steinbeck heirs want delay in Google book settlement
By Paul Biba
The New York Times is reporting that the heirs of John Steinbeck—as well as other heirs and still-living authors, along with musician Arlo Guthrie—are officially asking for a delay in the implementation of the Google book settlement.
The group of authors seeking the delay has not come out against the settlement. They argue that given the complexity of the agreement and its long-range implications, the May 5 deadline should be extended by four months to allow authors to make informed decisions about how to proceed.
Editor’s note, 1:48 p.m.: Glad to see the Times in effect catching up with an April 25 post from our newest contributor, Mike Perry, one of the authors asking for a delay. - D.R.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Paul, thanks for this post, which originates from what publication ? …
And according to a weekly German magazine, Der Spiegel:
German Authors [are] Outraged at Google Book Search
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,621385,00.html
For authors and publishers, the deadline to opt out of the agreement is May 5.
For me, that’s just not enough time to evaluate whether to stay in or to opt out.
I was happy that FiledBy put me in, with the option to opt out. But Google should have done things differently: they should have given authors and publishers the choice.
Michael Pastore
50 Benefits of Ebooks
April 27th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
The NYT article has a very ugly and long first sentence….
A group of authors and the heirs of others, including representatives of the estate of John Steinbeck, and of the musician Arlo Guthrie, are asking a federal judge to delay by four months the deadline for authors to decide whether or not to participate in the settlement of a landmark class-action lawsuit against Google.
Your post shortens it to….
The New York Times is reporting that the heirs of a number of authors, including John Steinbeck and Arlo Guthrie, are officially asking for a delay in the implementation of the Google book settlement.
You have dropped …”A group of authors and”
Arlo Guthrie is still alive (hey I like the guy) as you will see from http://www.arlo.net/ .
-Greg
April 28th, 2009 at 3:25 am
Hey, Greg, thanks. I love Alice’s Restaurant, and thankfully Guthrie is very much still alive. I’ve made the fix. My bad on deadline—not Paul’s. Always report glitches; we appreciate your help!
David