[A2k] Google Book US Settlement Agreement - Invitation to hearing

[Manon Ress]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
GOOGLE BOOK SETTLEMENT
INFORMATION HEARING
7 September 2009

The European Commission intends to draw up its provisional conclusions
on the effect of the Google Book US Settlement Agreement (the
"Settlement") on the European publishing sector, European authors,
European consumers and society at large.

Hearing

In order to consolidate the fact-finding carried out so far, the
Commission intends to organise a meeting to be held on 7 September
2009 from 10.00 to 17.30 at the Albert Borschette Centre, 36 rue
Froissart, 1049 Brussels.

Topics for Discussion
The Commission is seeking stakeholders' views on the implications,
consequences as well as benefits of the Google Book Settlement. In
particular, the following issues should be addressed: (1) the scope of
the settlement, (2) the amount of European works covered by the
settlement, (3) the role of the Books Rights Registry (the
"Registry"), (4) the notion of "commercial availability" and (5)
issues of consumer access to the new services offered under the
Settlement.

Scope of the settlement
The Commission is seeking precise details on the exact scope of the
Settlement.
The quantity and status of European works covered by the Settlement
The Commission seeks to ascertain how many European works or
publications will potentially be affected by the Settlement.

The Registry
The Commission also seeks views to what extent and under what
conditions the Registry can license third parties.

The notion of "commercial availability"
If a book is designated as "Commercially Available" then Google will
not be authorized to make any "Display Uses" of the book unless a
rightsholder of the book gives express permission to do so. If a book
is designated as not "Commercially Available", then Google will be
able to make all "Display
Uses" of the book unless a rightsholder of the book instructs Google
to exclude the book from one or more Display Uses.

The Settlement makes an essential distinction between books that are
Commercially Available and those that are not. In these circumstances,
it is of interest to clarify how:

=F4=80=80=A9 The specific provisions on default exclusion of commercially
available (generally, in-print) books in the display use affect
European works and European right-holders.

=F4=80=80=A9 The default inclusion of commercially unavailable (generally, =
out-
of-print) books in the display uses affect European works and European
right-holders.

Consumer issues
The Commission seeks the views on how the proposed Google services
offered on the basis of the Settlement could potentially benefit
European consumers, researchers and the public at large.

Practical arrangements:
Registrations for the hearing should reach the following address by 24
August 2009: markt-d1@ec.europa.eu

The maximum number of participants is limited to 80. Therefore,
registrations will be accepted in the order in which they are received
although priority will be given to those with a direct interest in the
Settlement. Confirmation of registration and details of the venue will
be sent at least one week prior to
the scheduled date.

To facilitate the preparation of the meeting, written statements on
the topics to be addressed can also be submitted in advance or at the
meeting itself.
Upon registration, and in order to facilitate the organisation, each
participant should therefore indicate the topic which they wish to
address. On this basis, the Commission services will draw up a
speaker's list for each topic.

Interventions should be limited to not more than 10 minutes per speaker.
For further information contact:
Justyna LAWNICZAK justyna.lawniczak@ec.europa.eu
Elaine MILLER elaine.miller@ec.europa.eu
Tilman LUEDER tilman.lueder@ec.europa.eu
Dated: 13 July 2009













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Manon Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Fax: +1.202.332.2673