Judge Denny Chin, of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York granted Google and authors and publishers an extension until Friday to file a revised settlement to their dispute over the online giant's plan to digitize millions of books. The parties have been in discussions with the Department of Justice prior to and following a hearing last month. The revisions will be submitted to a federal court conducting a fairness review of the deal. And the move will mark the latest step in a near four-year battle that has raised new questions about online copyright, e-commerce competition, and the future of publishing and libraries. After comments are submitted, the Justice Department will weigh in with their views. Critics of the deal, including the heirs of John Steinbeck and e-commerce firms like Amazon, will likely protest the deal if not significantly revised, they say.
