...text of in-copyright, out-of-print books, the deal is now dead.

The proposed agreement has been fraught with issues"and many attempts to block it"and with the DoJ saying it wouldnt approve the settlement as written, Google just decided to drop the proposal.

That said, Google is still hell-bent on getting the book deal agreed"no matter the terms:

Google has this to say: "The plaintiffs moved for an adjournment of the final Fairness Hearing, currently scheduled for October 7. We are considering the points raised by the Department of Justice and others, and we look forward to addressing them as the court proceedings continue."

Humble in victory, the Open Book Alliance posted this to its blog:

This is a huge victory for the many people and organizations who raised significant concerns that this settlement did not serve the public interest, stifled innovation, and restricted competition. Its also an enormous loss for Google, which had been saying for months that no changes were necessary to the settlement. Now, that settlement, as we know it, is dead.

Gracious, huh?

If I were the Open Book Alliance, I wouldnt want to make Google angry. It wont like Google if it gets angry!

Expect to see Google back soon with a re-drafted version of the agreement.

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