US court cramps Google

SAN FRANCISCO - A US federal judge last week curtailed Google's ambitions to create a giant digital bookstore and library, and Google and groups representing publishers and authors have since been assessing their options.

Their original settlement would have let Google scan and make available every book ever published, but the judge, Denny Chin, rejected it March 22.

After seven years, Google may take the battle from the courtroom to Congress, to promote a law that would make orphan works - books that are still under copyright but whose author or copyright owner can't be found - widely available.