A coalition has been formed to challenge a settlement Google Books is close to winning.

The settlement is the result of a lawsuit that asserts Google's desire to scan books and avail them online violates author and publisher copyrights. It was settled in October 2008, with tentative approval yielded by a federal judge.

Final approval of the settlement was delayed for a fairness hearing, scheduled for October 7th, after a number of authors' groups and other publishing industry members complained, reports Search Engine Land.

The coalition was cobbled together by the Internet Archive. Director Peter Brantley stated its objective is to have the settlement revised, not necessarily blocked. It has tentatively been dubbed the Open Book Alliance and will issue a formal announcement in the weeks to come.

Joining the library associations and publishing industry members are Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon — digital rivals with their own reasons for blocking the Google scanner's access to all that text. Microsoft and Yahoo have confirmed their involvement; Amazon has not, The New York Time writes.

Microsoft has already funded opposition to Google Books via New York Law School. It has also begun developing close strategic ties with Yahoo to battle Google in the search market.

And Google Books recently announced plans to sell digital versions of new books directly to users — a move interpreted by some to be an aggressive foray into Amazon territory.