The Department of Justice is expected Friday to outline a range of concerns it has about a settlement that Google Inc. struck with book authors and publishers over the rights to distribute digital copies of certain books, according to people familiar with the matter.
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The filing is likely to discuss the department's concern that parts of the agreement may hurt the interests of other parties, such as Google's potential competitors in the nascent digital-book market.
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For example, the Justice Department is concerned that one of the agreement's features--a "registry" that governs aspects of the agreement such as some pricing and payment distributions--could allow publishers to set prohibitively high prices for their works, said one of the people familiar with the matter.
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The Justice Department also believes some of its concerns can be addressed through continuing negotiations that generate certain changes in the agreement, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker reaffirmed the company's defense of the settlement as "unlocking access to millions of books in the U.S. while giving authors and publishers new ways to distribute their work."
At least five state attorneys general have filed briefs raising concerns about Google Inc.'s proposed legal settlement with authors and publishers, adding to a wave of criticism lodged against the high-profile deal as it nears a public hearing.
Attorneys general from Missouri, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Washington have filed comments opposing the proposed settlement, arguing that its use of payments intended for copyright holders that can't be located is potentially unlawful.
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