The deal, being investigated because of its anticompetitive nature, would force Google to provide $125 million toward a Book Rights Registry, where authors and publishers could register their works and receive some form of compensation for their work from subscriptions or book sales.

"The Department of Justice and several state attorneys general have contacted us to learn more about the impact of the settlement, and we are happy to answer their questions," said Gabriel Stricker, a Google spokesperson. "It's important to note that this agreement is non-exclusive and if approved by the court, stands to expand access to millions of books in the U.S."

Google said it received Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) from the DOJ. A CID is a request for information in the course of a civil investigation and does not constitute the beginning of legal proceedings. David Drummund, Google's legal counsel sait it is the equivalent of a civil subpoena, he told Reuters.

Competitive Barriers

Consumer groups have been outspoken about their disapproval of the deal between the Internet search giant and the authors and publishers groups, among them Public Knowledge, a Washington, DC-based public interest group.

The group said while it encourages access to orphan works, it believes the proposed settlement allows only the Book Rights Registry to grant licenses to use absent authors' works. This would allow only Google to use the licenses. Orphan works are copyrighted works where it is challenging or impossible to find the copyright holder.

"The Justice Department is free to see what it can see," Public Knowledge's Communication Director Art Brodsky said, declining to provide any additional comment on the probe.

Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit group, has publicly claimed the deal was anticompetitive and has also asked the courts to reject the settlement because it raises antirust concerns.

Consumer Watchdog attorney Eric Holder, in an April letter to the DOJ, asked officials to delay the settlement until a "most favored nation" clause favoring Google is removed and the deal's orphan-works provision is extended to cover all who may digitize books.

"The danger of using and selling such works is that a rights holder will emerge after the book has been exploited and demand substantial infringement penalties," John Simpson, consumer advocate with the group, said in his letter. "The proposed settlement protects Google from such potentially damaging exposure, but provides no protection for others. This effectively is a barrier for competitors to enter the digital book business."

Changes To Come If Necessary

Drummond said the federal court considering the settlement and DOJ would work together.

"It's a separate question from the approval of the class action settlement," Drummond told Reuters. "The judge's job is not to review every question that the Department of Justice might think about."

Google's legal counsel also said the deal may undergo some changes if made necessary.