Google is reportedly working to make its settlement with book publishers more palatable to the court, but even if the deal goes through, consumers are likely a long way from getting out-of-print "orphaned" books onto their e-readers.

The settlement, in its current state, would allow Google to make large passages of these books, which are in copyright but whose authors can't be found, searchable on the Web. The government and other parties have raised privacy concerns, worrying about Google's observation of what people read. (And not all authors and publishers are satisfied, although their associations signed on to the deal.)

But what really has Amazon, Microsoft and other competitors in a tizzy is the part of the settlement that lets Google sell online access and subscriptions to orphaned books. As the e-reader market heats up, Amazon argues, the Google book settlement would create "a cartel of authors and publishers" who could set pricing and availability without restrictions.

These opponents would have a harder time setting up their own market of orphaned materials because they'd have to create an agreement with publishers and authors from scratch, instead of making a settlement in court.