July 3, 2009 – The Los Angeles Times reported that the Department of Justice has launched a federal antitrust investigation into the Google Book Search settlement. The proposed project to digitize millions of books is part of a landmark settlement reached between Google and the Author’s Guild in October 2008.
Since the settlement was announced, several trade groups have expressed concern that with this arrangement, Google would create a monopoly in a new digital book market. Although the initial objections were considered to be informal, the Justice Department has now confirmed the launch of an official investigation.
The full Los Angeles Time report can be read here: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/07/03/google_book_deal_faces_investigation/
For background on the original settlement please see the following links:
APA Alert: The Google Book Search Settlement, April 15th 2009
Authors Guild Settlement Resource Page
Google Book Settlement – Official Website