Judge blocks Google's library

Google's library stalled?

It has not been a good year for e-readers thus far; first Apple strike a blow against the likes of Kindle by unleashing their iPad and then they work a provision into their agreement with publishers, requiring them to occasionally sell bestselling books at a discount, possibly as low as $10 per book essentially undercutting everyone else.

However, the digital book market has now taken another hit as Google's efforts to create the world's largest digital library were stalled after a US judge declined to rule on the case immediately.

The case has drawn controversy over critics saying that any deal Google did with US publishers and authors would give them a monopoly over online book sales. Google however have said that it would make "millions of books searchable via the web".

Google's plan would see a $125m settlement that would set up a book rights registry to pay authors and publishers compensation in return for their work being scanned and digitised.

However, after reading over 500 submissions from both sides, Judge Denny Chin said at the start of the proceedings in New York that "to end the suspense, I'm not going to rule today. There is just too much to digest. I have an open mind."

Showdown

The hearing has been a long time in the making, ever since Google's scanning of books in 2004 brought it into conflict with the Authors Guild of America and the Association of American Publishers, and they sued over "massive copyright infringement".

After a 2005 deal was amended last year, those who were against the settlement outnumbered those who were for it three to one, pitting tech-giants such as Sony and Microsoft against each other.

According to the BBC, Sony, who makes electronic book readers, supported the deal because it was good for competition. Microsoft's Tom Rubin disagreed and said it "was structured to solidify Google's dominance"

Amazon have also weighted in with their lawyer saying the agreement allowed "full scale commercial exploitation with essentially no restraint whatsoever. It turns copyright law on its head".

Whatever the judge decides could change how books are read in the future, and as such many, including the tech companies are watching with avid interest.

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