Thousands of authors reject Google service

Nearly 7,000 authors have asked to be excluded from the sweeping digital books agreement that Google has reached with the publishing industry.

The requests are the latest sign of the deep unhappiness stirred up in the world by the landmark agreement, according to opponents of the plan. However, they and other observers also said the objections are likely to have little impact on Google's ambition to create the most comprehensive online repository of printed works. The deal still requires approval by a US judge, who held a hearing on the case last week in the last step before issuing his ruling. The agreement, which is designed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against Google by publishers and authors, would give the company the right to scan and index past works that are still in copyright, as long as their authors do not opt out. Google would also sell digital copies and split the proceeds with the copyright holders.