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2012 Summer Conference

Learn about effective new programs and practices and join with colleagues in advancing a positive agenda for the future. July 1-3, St. Louis, Mo.

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Permissions

ASCD respects intellectual property rights and adheres to the laws governing them. Learn more about our permissions policy and submit your request online.

Policies and Requests

Translations Rights

Books in Translation

ASCD and the Google Book Settlement

Mar. 22, 2011 Google Book Settlement Update

Judge Denny Chin rejected the proposed Google Book Settlement on March 22, 2011. The full opinion is available here. The court will hold a status conference on April 25, 2011. An overview of the opinion from the Associated Press appears in the Washington Post.

May 5, 2010 Update

The Fairness Hearing for the proposed settlement was held on February 18, 2010. U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin did not issue a ruling, and no time line for a decision has been issued. For more details, see this New York Times article.

In late April, the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Chin to be elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. How this affects the pending settlement is unclear.

Nov. 23, 2009 Update

As noted on the Google Book Settlement Web site, "On November 13, 2009, the parties filed with the Court an Amended Settlement Agreement and a motion for preliminary approval of the amended settlement. The parties' motion also seeks Court approval of a Supplemental Notice, which, if approved, will be sent out in early December 2009." Judge Denny Chin granted preliminary approval of the amended settlement on November 19, 2009. New key dates are as follows: 

  • December 14, 2009—Supplemental notices about the agreement are distributed.
  • January 28, 2010—Deadline for objections to the amended agreement (previously submitted comments do not have to be refiled).
  • February 18, 2010—Judge Denny Chin holds Fairness Hearing to hear arguments.

As an author, you may have received a notice from Google about the proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit regarding Google's scanning and use of books and other written products without the permission of their copyright owners, as described at the Books Rights Registry. The proposed settlement covers books published on or before January 5, 2009. The deadline for deciding whether to opt in, opt out, or object to the settlement has been extended to September 4, 2009.

If ASCD still holds the publishing rights to your book (including electronic rights), you do not need to respond to the notice from Google. ASCD has decided to opt in to the terms of the Google settlement if it is approved by the court and will make the appropriate claims with Google. The U.S. Department of Justice has begun antitrust investigations of this proposed settlement, however, so approval is by no means certain. The judge overseeing the case has delayed the fairness hearing for the settlement from June 11 to October 7, 2009, to give all parties more time to review this complex proposal. The earliest possible approval of the settlement would be in October.

If ASCD has returned all publishing rights to you or if you did not grant ASCD electronic rights, then you are responsible for filing a claim with Google at the Web site noted above by January 5, 2010 (that claim date could be changed by the court in October, but it still stands today).

Filing a claim means the rights holder is eligible for cash payment for Google's unauthorized scanning of books done prior to May 5, 2009. Any payments received by ASCD will be shared with authors based on the terms of the publishing contract for each book.

If you have any questions about whether you or ASCD holds the rights to your book, please contact us via e-mail.

If you'd like to learn more about the proposed settlement and its implications, the Copyright Clearance Center offers several audio seminars with transcripts through their Settlement Seminar Series.

As we receive new information about the proposed Google settlement, we will keep you informed.