Google Inc. (GOOG:NASDAQ)

Google Inc. and groups representing book publishers and authors have filed a modified version of their settlement with a U.S. court. The changes would pave the way for other companies to license Google's vast digital collection of copyrighted out-of-print books and might resolve Google's conflicts with European and other governments around the world. The settlement, for a 2005 lawsuit over Google's ambitious plan to digitize books from major American libraries, outlined a plan to create a comprehensive database of in-print and out-of-print works. But the original agreement, primarily between Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, drew much criticism. The U.S. Justice Department and others said Google was potentially violating copyright law, setting itself up to control access unfairly to electronic versions of older books and depriving authors and their heirs of proper compensation. The revisions filed Friday primarily address the handling of so-called orphan works, the millions of books whose rights holders are unknown or cannot be found. The changes call for the appointment of an independent fiduciary, or trustee, who will be solely responsible for decisions regarding orphan works.

Google Inc. hasn't done enough to safeguard the privacy of those who appear in its Street View mapping system. Switzerland's federal data protection commissioner, Hanspeter Thur, announced that he is suing Google to force it to make changes to its application, which enables users to see panoramic streetscapes in U.S. and in European cities. Google already blurs faces and license plate numbers shown in the Street View scenes, but Thur told reporters in Bern the blurring is insufficient and contended Google had rejected other demands.

Brightstar Corp. announced that it is expanding its global sales and distribution program to the worldwide developer community for phones using Android, an open source-based mobile device platform of Google Inc. Brightstar, via its customized global e-commerce and distribution network, will now sell and deliver Android-powered phones in nearly 30 countries. Developers use the devices sold by Brightstar to load and test applications that they create for Android-powered devices. Many organizations purchasing the phones are universities who are teaching students about software development, and working with the students to create new applications. Brightstar has expanded its distribution from 18 international markets by adding nine new regions including Italy, South Africa, New Zealand, Brazil, Czech Republic, Estonia, Mexico, Northern Ireland and Norway. Brightstar will distribute the HTC Android Dev Phone 2 to coincide with this market expansion. Android Dev Phone 2 is carrier-independent and is available for purchase by any developer registered with Android Market(TM). Additional features of the ADP2 include a large touch screen LCD and virtual keyboard, WIFI, a 3.1 Megapixel Camera and Android 1.6 (Donut) operating system.