What's at stake in Google's plan to digitize all the world's books

Google's long-running effort to digitize the world’s books was back in court June 1, as a judge met with the Internet giant and its class-action foes in the publishing world over a scheme that could shape the future of publishing in the Internet era.

For Circuit Judge Denny Chin and the antitrust arm of the US Department of Justice Google's bid to scan, post, and profit from millions of out-of-print books with unclear copyright claims – so called "unclaimed" or "orphan" books – runs the risk of running roughshod over an industry that is only now beginning to find its feet. Lawyers representing both Google and the coalition of authors and publishers met in a New York courtroom to update the judge on how they are doing in addressing these concerns. "We have been working closely with the authors and publishers to explore a number of options in response to the court's decision," a Google spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement. "At today's status hearing, we asked the court for more time to discuss those options." The court granted a 60-day extension.