Google Said to Be Talking With Justice About Online Book Deal

By Susan Decker and Christopher Stern for Bloomberg

Google Inc. and a group of authors and publishers are talking to the Justice Department about modifications to a settlement designed to make millions of out- of-print books available online, two people familiar with the discussions said.
The discussions are aimed at modifying the settlement in ways that ease Justice Department concerns that the deal would let Google discourage other companies from competing for access to the books online, said one of the people. Both spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in New York yesterday ordered Google and the other parties to the settlement to respond to an outpouring of viewpoints questioning the plan to create a digital book library.
Justice Department spokesman Gina Talamona declined to comment on the talks. The department isn’t a party to the settlement between Google and the authors and publishers. Google spokeswoman Megan Lamb also declined to comment.
Some companies such as Amazon.com Inc. argue that the deal would give Google unfair control over a vast database of books online. Also, library groups say they have concerns the deal could jeopardize the privacy of readers who get access to the books on the Internet.
Chin said he has received about 400 filings by individuals and groups who object to the deal, support it or want some legal points to be considered.

The full report at Bloomberg online.