Google Book Settlement - implications for music publishers
In 2004 Google announced the Google Library Project under which it started digitising books and other works of libraries in the United States. The Authors’ Guild and the Association of American Publishers filed a copyright infringement class action lawsuit against Google in response. Instead of waiting for a court judgement, the parties entered into negotiations and on 28 October 2008 reached a Settlement Agreement. The Settlement still requires approval by the US district court in New York and a Fairness Hearing (originally scheduled for 11 June 2009) is now set for 7 October 2009. If approved, it will bind all persons with a US copyright interest in a Book or Insert in a Book published before 5 January 2009 if they do not opt out by 4 September 2009. Members of this class will become Rightsholders under the Settlement.
How does this affect music publishers?
The Settlement extends to music publishers established outside the US given that their copyright is likely to be protected under US copyright law. Music publishers may have a copyright interest in a Book or an Insert. The definition of Book specifically excludes ‘written or printed works in which more than 35% of the pages contain more than 50% music notation and lyrics interspersed’. Sheet music and other works that are used primarily for the playing of music are therefore not included in the definition of a Book. However, notations and lyrics that do not reach the above proportions may be included under the agreement as Inserts. An Insert is an excerpt incorporated within a Book and expressly includes song lyrics and musical notation.
Over the past weeks we have been in contact with a number of members as to their reaction to the proposed Google Settlement and they have been in contact with their business partners in the USA. We have liaised with our international association ICMP, our colleagues in the USA at the NMPA, and with the Publishers Association and their international arm.
The Settlement is very complex. The consensus view appears to be that as printed sheet music books fall outside the definition of a Book in the Settlement Agreement then printed music publishers are not affected in any event, save to the extent that a book may contain inserts of music and lyrics which would be included and there is the prospect of getting paid for the use of these inserts. Accordingly the consensus view is not to opt out of the Settlement.
The fact that it is Google at the centre of the settlement has raised deep concern and debate amongst all rightsholders – on the one hand it is good that they have had to recognise copyright, get a licence and pay, on the other it is bad as it comprises a solution favouring Google – out of the settlement monies of $125 million Google will allocate $30 million towards setting up the Rights Registry which, although they will not run the registry, is set up on their terms.
For more, click on the document below.
Google_Settlement_Summary_(2).docGoogle_Settlement_Summary_2.doc
(44 KB)