3 Count: ReDigi Debate

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1: Google Reaches Digital-Book Deal With Publishers Group

First off today, Don Jeffrey of Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Google and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) have reached a settlement in their long-running dispute over Google’s Book Search project. In the settlement, Google has agreed to allow publishers to opt out of Google Book Search, Google’s book scanning and indexing project, if they choose. The settlement is a private settlement, meaning it only impacts the five publishers in the AAP, and doesn’t need court approval. Two previous settlement attempts were on behalf of the entire class and failed to receive court approval. The lawsuit from the Authors Guild, which was recently granted class action status, will continue as Google appeals that ruling. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

2: US Court to Rule on ReDigi’s MP3 Digital Music Resales

Next up today, Kim Gittleson of the BBC reports that opening arguments in the ReDigi case are set to begin today. ReDigi is a recent start up that offers users the chance to sell and buy “used” digital downloads. EMI, however, sued the company claiming that right of first sale does not apply to digital downloads and that the only way to distribute music is by copying it. The case is a widely-watched one as it raises a lot of questions about ownership rights of digital goods. A similar case in the EU involving Oracle and “used” licenses found that authors of software can not oppose such resales.

3: Facebook Shutters The Cool Hunter for Copyright Issues

Finally today, Dana Kerr at CNet reports that the site The Cool Hunter, a popular image blog, has had its Facebook page shut down and lost its over 780,000 fans. In a recent blog post, the site’s admins wonder why their Facebook Fan Page was shuttered eight weeks ago on what Facebook calls “repeat IP infringement” but has not told the founders which images or posts were at issue. The admins say that they have been unable to get any response from Facebook. The admins have said that they would like to work with Facebook to get the page restored but, to date, have had no response.

Suggestions

That’s it for the three count today. We will be back tomorrow with three more copyright links. If you have a link that you want to suggest a link for the column or have any proposals to make it better. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I hope to hear from you.

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