Google digital library plan still without deal

Publishers revealed Wednesday that they and Google had yet to reach a deal in the longstanding plan to create a digital library. The content creators' attorney Bruce Keller told Judge Denny Chin that all was still "on the table" and that no deal had been reached. Judge Chin gave an extra 60 days, until July 19, for both sides to come to terms.

The American Association of Publishers and the Authors Guild had sued Google in 2005 after it had proposed a strategy that would have seen it create digital copies of as many public domain books as possible or those that had no traceable rights. Both of the objectors claimed that Google's strategy, which assumed it could publish if no one stepped forward, was violating their rights.

Amazon, Microsoft, and Yahoo objected as well, arguing that it would put too much control of e-books into one company's hands. Google eventually settled for $125 million this March, but the conditions, which let it offer a subscription to what it had planned, were ruled by Judge Chin as having gone too far.

Google has since offered a traditional e-book store on the web and on mobile platforms like Android and iOS.

By Electronista Staff

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