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The New York judge overseeing the approval process for the Google Book Search settlement has rejected an attempt by the Internet Archive to intervene in the action.
The Internet Archive sent a letter to the court last week, asking for the proposed settlement to be amended to give other companies that have scanned printed books the same protections over orphan works that would be granted to Google under the terms of the settlement.
But judge Dennis Chin rejected the plea saying he had "construed [the] letters as motions to intervene, and the motions are denied". The judge said that the "proposed interveners" were still "free to file objections to the proposed settlement” by the 5th May deadline.
The judge's pronouncement is a first hint as to how he will act in the run-up to the Fairing Hearing, set for 11th June. A number of approaches to the court are expected in the next seven weeks, including from those who object to the Settlement. These include the Institute for Information Law and Policy from New York's Law School, which has filed a brief amicus curiae asking the Court to seek "further counsel" from those who were not part of the original Settlement, i.e. the missing owners of the Orphan Works. The school, which has received funding from Microsoft to focus on the Settlement, has warned of "underexplored dangers" arising from the ageement.