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[GNU/FSF Press] FSF files new objection to amended Google Book Search se


From: Brett Smith
Subject: [GNU/FSF Press] FSF files new objection to amended Google Book Search settlement
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:22:09 -0500

## Free Software Foundation files new objection to amended Google Book
   Search settlement

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Monday, February 1, 2010 -- The Free
Software Foundation (FSF) filed another objection in court to the
proposed amended Google Book Search settlement (*The Authors Guild,
Inc., et al. v. Google Inc.*). The objection notes that proposed
amendments which discuss works under free licenses unfairly burden
their authors with ensuring license compliance, and urges the court to
reject the proposed settlement unless it incorporates terms that
better address the needs of authors using free licenses like the GNU
Free Documentation License (GFDL).

The GFDL is a copyright license that authors use for their works when
they believe others should have the freedom to share and improve those
works. It was designed primarily for use with technical documentation,
but has been used for many different kinds of written works -- from
print biographies to Wikipedia articles. Whereas copyright is normally
used to prohibit others from distributing works, the GFDL encourages
sharing, with the requirement that any such redistribution must also be
under its pro-sharing terms.

But under the proposed amended settlement, Google would generally have
permission to display and distribute these works without abiding by
the requirements to pass the freedoms guaranteed under the GFDL on to
Google Books readers.  Authors who wanted to use the GFDL or another
free license would be required to designate that license in a Registry
-- and the Registry would determine which licenses could and could not
be chosen.

"As soon as we saw this proposed amendment, we realized that it wasn't
good enough," said Brett Smith, license compliance engineer at the
FSF.  "The GFDL and other free licenses, like the Creative Commons
Attribution and Attribution-ShareAlike licenses, already grant Google
permission to display and distribute covered works through the Google
Book Search database.  Google doesn't need permission to distribute
these books under separate terms, and authors shouldn't have to ask
Google to come into compliance."

The objection states, "The proposed terms... [place] an unfair burden
on Rightsholders.  Rather than requiring Google to respect the terms
of such Free licenses, Rightsholders are responsible for notifying the
Registry that the work should be made available under those terms.
The FSF sees no justifiable reason to shift these administrative costs
to the Rightsholders.  Works distributed under Free licenses typically
indicate the license terms within the work itself, so authors have
already made their choice clearly known.  Google should be able to use
this information to classify and publish these works
appropriately...."

The full text of the objection is available online at
<http://static.fsf.org/nosvn/google-book-search-objection-2.pdf>.
The full text of the GFDL is at
<http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/fdl.html>.

### About the Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to
promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and
redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and
use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating
system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free
software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and
political issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites,
located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information
about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at
<http://donate.fsf.org>. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

### About Free Software and Open Source

The free software movement's goal is freedom for computer users. Some,
especially corporations, advocate a different viewpoint, known as
"open source," which cites only practical goals such as making
software powerful and reliable, focuses on development models, and
avoids discussion of ethics and freedom. These two viewpoints are
different at the deepest level. For more explanation, see
<http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html>.

### Media Contacts

Brett Smith  
License Compliance Engineer  
Free Software Foundation  
+1 (617) 542 5942 x18  
<address@hidden>

 ###






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