News

Judge Rejects Settlement in Google Books Case, Saying It Goes Too Far (Chronicle of Higher Education)

     The proposed settlement in the long-standing class-action lawsuit over Google's vast book-scanning project is dead, at least in its current form. In a ruling on Tuesday, the federal judge overseeing the case rejected the settlement, saying that it "would simply go too far," even though "the digitization of books and the creation of a universal digital library would benefit many." But he also urged the parties to consider revising the settlement, and suggested an approach that would deal with his major concerns.
     The case goes back to 2005, when the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild sued Google, asserting that its book-digitizing violated copyright law. The parties to the case reached a settlement agreement in 2008, a revised version of which was filed in late 2009. That "Amended Settlement Agreement" is what was rejected today in a ruling from the U.S. District Court in Manhattan by Judge Denny Chin. (Judge Chin was a member of the district court when the case came before him in 2005; he is now a federal appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.)
     In his 48-page ruling, Judge Chin concluded that the settlement as proposed "would give Google a significant advantage over competitors, rewarding it for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission." He said the settlement would have not only released Google "from liability for past copyright infringement" but from future liability as well, and it would "grant Google the right to sell full access to copyrighted works that it otherwise would have no right to exploit."….

Cal State University to cut enrollment, faculty, staff and more (LA Times)

     California State University plans to enroll 10,000 fewer students next year, slash spending in the chancellor's office and reduce faculty and staff to contend with a proposed $500-million cut in state funding, officials said Tuesday.
     At a meeting of the Board of Trustees in Long Beach, Cal State administrators outlined a series of actions that will probably mean fewer instructors and classes and more crowded classrooms across the system's 23 campuses….

Gov. Brown may seek November ballot initiative (Total Buzz; Oc Reg)

     Faced with the growing likelihood that he’ll fail to qualify a June ballot measure to extend temporary tax increases, Gov. Jerry Brown is considering gathering signatures for a November initiative for the taxes, the Sacramento Bee is reporting….

Hundreds Turn Out to Condemn, Support Villa Park Councilwoman (Voice of OC)

     A strip center parking lot in Villa Park became a cauldron of religious and ethnic venting Tuesday as hundreds of protestors descended on the town's city hall to release weeks of pent-up feelings over Villa Park Councilwoman Deborah Pauly's perceived anti-Muslim comments at a Muslim charity event in February.
     Muslims showed up to the Villa Park City Council meeting with signs and anger to condemn Pauly's comments, as did whites -- with their flags and signs -- to defend her First Amendment rights. Jews, Christians, Christian Arabs, Quakers and a Sikh man also came, the entire scene bringing to a climax a controversy that has brought nationwide attention to the North Orange County bedroom community….