DOJ told U.S. Judge Denny Chin who has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 7, that the parties should consider the following changes: imposing limitations on open-ended provisions for future licensing; eliminating potential conflicts among class members; providing additional protections for unknown rights holders; addressing concerns of foreign authors and publishers; eliminating joint-pricing mechanisms among publishers and authors; and providing a way for Google's competitors to gain comparable access.

The U.S. government's top copyright official warned last week that the settlement would encroach on Congress' role in setting copyright policy and would let Google "engage in a number of indisputable acts of copyright infringement." Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters testified alongside fans and foes of the proposal during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said the deal complies with copyright law and will lower barriers to entry for competitors.