A district court judge told Google its $125 million settlement with authors and publishers is invalid because it’s too favorable to the company. The ruling stalls Google’s plans to complete a massive digital library and bookstore.

The New York Times reports the judge said that the deal was unfair because it gave Google a “de facto monopoly” and would give the company the right to make money from books while shutting out copyright owners. The story says the judge will allow Google to submit a revised settlement.

Google, which has scanned 15 million books and displays titles with expired copyrights in their entirety via its Book Search service, it shows only samples of licensed copyrighted work. The settlement would have allowed Google to sell millions of out-of-print books, potentially allowing authors and publishers to receive cuts.

Judge Rejects Google’s Deal to Digitize Books [The New York Times]

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