Google Books settlement at risk?

The US DoJ steps in and now the deal is being revised. [19sept09]

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a "Statement of Interest" recommending that Judge Chin disapprove the Proposed Settlement Agreement in the Authors Guild v. Google case. Although the DOJ recognized that the public would benefit from greater access to books if the settlement was approved, it has concluded that the agreement in its current form does not satisfy legal requirements. The DOJ recommended that the litigants modify the agreement in some important respects before Judge Chin considers approving a settlement of the case. This is the most significant development since the settlement itself was announced.

Read more on The Huffington Post.

“The news out of this is that there are frantic negotiations going on in back rooms right now,” said James Grimmelmann, an associate professor at the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School, which raised antitrust and other objections to the settlement. “The parties are scared enough to be talking seriously about changes, with each other and the government. The government is being the stern parent making them do it.”

Google, the guild and the publishers’ association said they were
encouraged by the department’s view that the settlement offered many
benefits, adding that they looked forward to addressing the department’s concerns.

Read more on The New York Times.