Stanford Endorses Google Books Settlement

The last few months were probably long and hard ones for members of the Google Books team; it had started to seem like the whole world objected to their proposed scanning and sharing settlement.  But it turns out that Stanford is on Google's side, as a new deal was announced this afternoon.

Stanford and Google first sealed a book-related deal in late 2004.  In fact, Stanford was one of five organizations that, on December 14th of 2004, joined what was then known as an expansion of the Google Print program.

Now, a post on the Google Public Policy Blog has stated, "Stanford University . . . has expanded our original partnership to take advantage of our settlement agreement to make millions of works from its library collection accessible to readers, researchers, and book lovers across the United States."

The post continued, "That means that if the settlement agreement is approved by the court, anyone in the US will be able to find, preview and buy online access to books from Stanford's library."

So obviously, this could be a significant agreement.  We'll just need to find out how the settlement agreement fares before we can be sure that the terms will stick.

Have You Read This?

> Google Bows To Chinese Authors On Book Scanning

> Three More Groups Rally Against Google Books Settlement

> Google Books Suffers Defeat In French Court

eBay Fined $2.6 Million Over LVMH Sales

If a French court has its way, eBay will soon have to fork over $2.6 million.  The fine stems from a ban on the sale (or purchase) of LVMH goods, and actually ties to a case that ended in eBay being told to pay LVMH $61 million.

LVMH, which is the entity behind luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer, and De Beers, won a major case against eBay in June of last year.  LVMH claimed to be concerned about the sale of counterfeit merchandise, and eBay was supposed to keep all related items off its French site as a result.

Apparently eBay wasn't completely successful, however (misspelled listings may have created problems), hence the latest fine.

Now, Alex von Schirmeister, the general manager of eBay in France, has stated, "We believe that the higher courts will overturn this ruling and ensure that eCommerce companies such as eBay will continue to provide a platform for buyers and sellers to trade authentic goods.

von Schirmeister also said, "The fine itself is disproportionate given that eBay complied with the Injunction.  It is out of step with our legal victories in France, UK, Germany, Belgium and the U.S."

Look for further developments down the road, then, as eBay appeals the ruling.

Have You Read This?

> eBay Sued By Shoe Retailer

> eBay Collects Another Win Against L'Oreal

> eBay Wins French Ruling Over L'Oreal Fakes

eBay Fined $2.6 Million Over LVMH Sales

If a French court has its way, eBay will soon have to fork over $2.6 million.  The fine stems from a ban on the sale (or purchase) of LVMH goods, and actually ties to a case that ended in eBay being told to pay LVMH $61 million.

LVMH, which is the entity behind luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Tag Heuer, and De Beers, won a major case against eBay in June of last year.  LVMH claimed to be concerned about the sale of counterfeit merchandise, and eBay was supposed to keep all related items off its French site as a result.

Apparently eBay wasn't completely successful, however (misspelled listings may have created problems), hence the latest fine.

Now, Alex von Schirmeister, the general manager of eBay in France, has stated, "We believe that the higher courts will overturn this ruling and ensure that eCommerce companies such as eBay will continue to provide a platform for buyers and sellers to trade authentic goods.

von Schirmeister also said, "The fine itself is disproportionate given that eBay complied with the Injunction.  It is out of step with our legal victories in France, UK, Germany, Belgium and the U.S."

Look for further developments down the road, then, as eBay appeals the ruling.

Have You Read This?

> eBay Sued By Shoe Retailer

> eBay Collects Another Win Against L'Oreal

> eBay Wins French Ruling Over L'Oreal Fakes