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A federal judge in New York upset Google's plans to create the biggest digital library and bookstore the world has ever seen. Google's grand idea was to scan and digitize pretty much every book ever published, an idea that was initially met with opposition from authors and book publishers. Google responded by agreeing to a $125 million settlement, and the project seem destined to happen, until now.
According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, Judge Denny Chin rejected the settlement over copyright, antitrust, and other concerns. Chin said the deal would have granted Google a "de facto monopoly," as well as the right to profit from books with copyright owners' permission.
Google so far has scanned some 15 million books, and entire books whose copyright has expired are available through Google's Book Search service. The license would have greatly added to that collection, but it looks like Google still has some legal wrangling to do.
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