Judge Denny Chin of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued an order scuttling the Google Books case fairness hearing scheduled for early October.  The parties to the case consented to a postponement after the Department of Justice filed a brief that made clear that the parties still have a lot of work to do before the government will support the settlement.

 

In the order, Judge Chin opined that "[t]he current settlement agreement raises significant issues, as demonstrated not only by the number of objections, but also by the fact that the objectors include countries, states, non-profit organizations, and prominent authors and law professors.  Clearly, fair concerns have been raised."  But Judge Chen went on to say that "the proposed settlement would offer many benefits to society, as recognized by supporters of the settlement as well as DOJ."

 

It appears that Judge Chin is stepping into the mix and attempting to usher the parties toward an agreement.  While he acknowledge that there is still much work to be done, Judge Chin seems to expect that the parties will walk away with some kind of agreement.

 

Judge Chin is scheduled to conduct a status hearing on October 7 and guage the parties' progress.  More to come then.

 

Judge Chin's order is available here.