The head of the US Copyright Office, MaryBeth Peters, opposed the Google Books settlement regarding the scanning of orphaned works saying it violated US Copyright laws. Testifying before Congress on September 10th, she stated about the legality of the settlement:
"In the view of the Copyright Office, the settlement proposed by the parties would encroach on responsibility for copyright policy that traditionally has been the domain of Congress. The settlement is not merely a compromise of existing claims, or an agreement to compensate past copying and snippet display. Rather, it could affect the exclusive rights of millions of copyright owners, in the United States and abroad, with respect to their abilities to control new products and new markets, for years and years to come. We are greatly concerned by the parties’ end run around legislative process and prerogatives, and we submit that this Committee should be equally concerned."
Despite the benefits, she goes on to say,"...none of these possibilities should require Google to have immediate, unfettered, and risk-free access to the copyrighted works of other people. They are not a reason to throw out fundamental copyright principles; they are a pretext to do so."
Google itself testified, "In this open platform [Google Books], readers can find and purchase digital books from any bookstore and read them on any device, including laptops, mobile phones and e-readers from multiple vendors. Smaller, independent bookstores, such as BookPeople in Austin, will benefit from an open platform that helps them stay relevant as book consumption moves online."
Note: Google quote sourced from CRN, http://www.crn.com/retail/219700722;jsessionid=NHEMI5LVQHVJNQE1GHRSKHWATMY32JVN?cid=ChannelWebBreakingNews.
