Posts tagged Settlement
Judge Presses Authors, Publishers & Google to Finalize a New Google Books Settlement
Jul 19th
When U.S. District Judge Denny Chin threw out the proposed Google Books Settlement earlier this year, he sent authors, publishers, and Google back to the negotiating table in order to hammer out an agreement that would allow Google’s digitization efforts to move forward.
But those negotiations are taking too long it seems, and at a conference between the groups today, Judge Chin put pressure on those involved to finalize things, threatening to set a “tight discovery schedule” if things aren’t resolved when the group comes before him next on September 15.
Sponsor
Judge Chin’s frustrations over the delay aren’t surprising. The case has dragged on since the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers each sued Google for its massive digitization efforts back in 2005. While the groups reached a settlement in 2008, Chin threw it out in March of this year, saying that it “would simply go too far.” In that ruling, Chin said that the settlement, as written, “would give Google a significant advantage over competitors, rewarding it for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission.”
Chin had argued that the settlement should have authors opt in to having their works digitized (and therefore searchable) by Google, rather than have them opt out, as the proposed settlement would have it.
And according to some indications from today’s meeting, an opt-in agreement is in the works. James Grimmelman reports on The Laboratorium that spokesperson Michael Boni, speaking for both Google and the plaintiffs, indicated that “the parties ‘have been aiming for an opt-in settlement.’ What that might mean is not obvious. It could mean an actual opt-in settlement, one that binds only class members who send in claim forms. It could mean a settlement in which Google commits to an open-ended offer to all class members. it could mean a narrower, scanning-and-searching-only settlement, so that copyright owners can ‘opt in’ to book sales by striking their own individual deals with Google.”
Although all parties did tell the judge today that negotiations are moving forward, a resolution to the Google Books case doesn’t seem much closer. Judge Chin, however, seems determined to force things forward come September.
View full post on ReadWriteWeb
Disney to Pay $3 Million Settlement for Violating Children’s Online Privacy
May 15th
The Walt Disney Company has agreed to pay a $3 million settlement stemming from charges that online virtual worlds once operated by Playdom, now a Disney subsidiary, violated the Federal Trade Commission rules designed to protect the online privacy of children under age 13.
According to the FTC, several Playdom sites that were aimed at young audiences illegally collected and then disclosed personal data in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). These sites included Pony Stars, 2 Moons, 9 Dragons, Age of Lore, and My DIva Doll. The FTC complaint says that some 821,000 children registered with Pony Stars between 2006 and 2009 and another 403,000 signed up for Playdom’s other online virtual worlds. These sites collected children’s names, ages, and email addresses and allowed them to post that personal information publicly online — including their real names and locations. The FTC charged that the company failed to get parents’ consent before collecting or disclosing this information.
Sponsor
The sites in question were created by Acclaim Games, which were acquired by Playdom in May 2010. Playdom, in turn, was acquired by Disney in August 2010, and by that time many of the games were shut down or transferred to offshore operators.
A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that it was “pleased that Playdom and the FTC have now resolved this matter amicably.”
The announcement of the settlement coincides with the introduction of legislation by Representatives Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) that will update online protections for children. Indeed, the legislation that governs children’s online privacy, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, was first passed in 1998. 1998 – that’s eons ago in Internet years. A world pre-Playdom, pre-Facebook, and even pre-Google. (Well, the search engine was actually incorporated that year.)
The updated COPPA legistation, called the “Do Not Track Kids Online Act,” would require online companies to explain the types of data that’s collected as well as how it is to be used or disclosed. It would also update language to include mobile applications, and it would ban companies from using children and teens’ personal data for targeted advertising.
The federal government is examining a number of new measures to protect consumers’ privacy online, but no surprise, particular attention is being paid to the children’s privacy online – not just on those sites like Disney’s aimed at directly at those under 13, but at others such as Facebook that, despite Terms of Service rules that dictate otherwise, are full of children.
View full post on ReadWriteWeb
DOJ Investigating Google Ads; $500 Million Set Aside For Potential Settlement
May 11th
In a regulatory filing this afternoon, Google disclosed that it was taking a $500 million charge in the first quarter, apparently to potentially settle charges related to a Department of Justice investigation of the company. Google didn’t elaborate, saying only that the probe was “into…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
View full post on Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Lee Ji Ah & Seo Taiji agree to a settlement of $1 million USD + α – allkpop
Apr 30th
 allkpop |
Lee Ji Ah & Seo Taiji agree to a settlement of $1 million USD + α
allkpop by VITALSIGN on May 1, 2011 at 12:47 am Yesterday, we reported that Lee Ji Ah withdrew her lawsuit against Seo Taiji after he came out with a statement addressing their divorce. Turns out, the two had actually come together prior to the announcement … Taiji speaks up about divorce for first time |
View full post on SEO – Google News
Google Apologizes Again For Buzz As FTC Settlement Is Reached
Mar 30th
Google Buzz launched last year, it quickly met security issues. Those issues, in turn, led to millions of dollars in fines, a downward PR spiral and a contributed significantly to the general distrust of Google, especially in Europe. It also led Google to immediately change how sharing worked in its products.
In a blog post today, Google publicly apologized again for “the mistakes [they] made with Buzz,” describing the privacy incidents surrounding at launch as falling short of Google’s “usual standards for transparency and user control.”
Click to read the rest of this post…
View full post on Search Engine Watch Blog
Google Book Search Settlement Rejected By Court
Mar 22nd
Remember the Google Book (Class Action) Settlement? It’s been some time since there’s been any news. After many months of waiting, the court handed down its decision today — a defeat for Google and those who supported the settlement. The Authors Guild brought a class action…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
View full post on Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
Google Agrees To Pay $3.5 Million In AdWords Settlement For Accidental Content Bids
Nov 29th
I just received an email from Google stating Google has proposed a settlement agreement amounting to a total of $3.5 million. Google said it would apply to any AdWords advertiser who accrued charges from Google after leaving the “CPC content bid” field empty when creating a new AdWords…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
View full post on Search Engine Land: News About Search Engines & Search Marketing
Google to Pay $8.5 Million in Buzz Privacy Class Action Settlement
Nov 3rd
Google will pay $8.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought against the company after its launch of Google Buzz. Google’s attempt at challenging Facebook and Twitter in the social networking realm was greeted with hostility by privacy advocates after it shared personal data without Gmail users’ consent.
Click to read the rest of this post…
View full post on Search Engine Watch Blog
Google Buzz Class Action Settlement
Nov 2nd
Google will pay $8.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought against the company after its launch of Google Buzz.
Click to read the rest of this post…
View full post on Search Engine Watch Blog
