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The Federation of European Publishers has said it has "serious concerns" over the Google settlement, claiming part of it "runs counter to two of the fundamental principles of international copyright law". The group also said the situation could lead to "de facto monopoly ... [which] is not desirable".
The FEP, which represents publishers from 26 European countries, said the exclusion of many European works had "improved" the deal with Google. However, it warned there was a lack of information about the "many" European works still included in the deal, as they had been registered with the US Copyright Office.
Federation director Anne Bergman-Tahon said: "FEP members whose publishers have registered their works with the US copyright office are concerned that the information about the copyright entries is unavailable for them, especially for historical registrations. We consider it is imperative that this information be made available and online, in time to allow rightsholders to take a considered and informed decision on their options."
She added: "The [settlement] does not require prior authorisation from a rightsholder to digitise copyright-protected works and make out of print works available. Further rightsholders are required to claim their works before exercising control over them. This runs counter to two of the fundamental principles of international copyright law."
Bergman-Tahon also warned that the principle of protecting territories, and determining whether something is "commercially available" necessitated "accurate metadata", but currently this information was "poor".
The FEP discussed the settlement when it met late last week (20th November) for its annual general assembly. The UK Publishers Association, which supports the new settlement, was represented by its c.e.o. Simon Juden.