Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Google Inc. and a group of authors and publishers are talking to the Justice Department about modifications to a settlement designed to make millions of out- of-print books available online, two people familiar with the discussions said.

The discussions are aimed at modifying the settlement in ways that ease Justice Department concerns that the deal would let Google discourage other companies from competing for access to the books online, said one of the people. Both spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in New York yesterday ordered Google and the other parties to the settlement to respond to an outpouring of viewpoints questioning the plan to create a digital book library.

Justice Department spokesman Gina Talamona declined to comment on the talks. The department isn’t a party to the settlement between Google and the authors and publishers. Google spokeswoman Megan Lamb also declined to comment.

Some companies such as Amazon.com Inc. argue that the deal would give Google unfair control over a vast database of books online. Also, library groups say they have concerns the deal could jeopardize the privacy of readers who get access to the books on the Internet.

Chin said he has received about 400 filings by individuals and groups who object to the deal, support it or want some legal points to be considered.

Response Requested

He ordered the parties in the case to respond by Oct. 2 “in light of the volume of submissions and the apparent public interest in the case.” Chin plans to hold an Oct. 7 hearing to decide whether to approve the $125 million agreement reached by Google to establish a “Book Rights Registry,” which would identify and compensate rights holders whose books have been scanned by Google.

The settlement was reached last year with the Author’s Guild, Pearson Plc’s Penguin and Education units, McGraw-Hill Cos., John Wiley & Sons Inc. and CBS Corp.’s Simon & Schuster subsidiary.

The Justice Department, which is scheduled to submit its views of the agreement by Sept. 18, is guaranteed to have time to speak at the Oct. 7 hearing along with the participants in the settlement. All others must submit a request by Sept. 21 to googlebookcase@nysd.uscourts.gov. Those chosen to speak will be told by Sept. 25, Chin said.

The settlement has brought objections from the governments of France and Germany, states including Missouri and Connecticut, authors from Japan and Austria, Time Warner Inc.’s DC Comics and a group that includes Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

Supporters include civil rights groups, Amazon.com rival Sony Corp., a group of economics and antitrust professors and authors including Amy Tan, Garrison Keillor and Judy Blume.

The case is Authors Guild v. Google Inc., 05-cv-8136, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporters on this story: Susan Decker in Washington at sdecker1@bloomberg.net; Christopher Stern in Washington at cstern3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 17, 2009 00:01 EDT