Amazon has voiced its opposition to Google's "dangerous" move to acquire the rights to digitise analogue content.
The cause of the tussle between the search giant, the Open Book Alliance, and several others including Yahoo and Microsoft, is the proposed £76 million ($125 million) deal between Google and the Association of American Publishers and the Authors' Guild.
Were it to go through, Google would be able to digitise millions of books still under copyright, and even receive a 30% share in proceeds.
In a 41-page document filed with a federal court in New York, Amazon has expressed concern over the agreement's ramifications regarding copyright laws.
Amazon said: "The proposed settlement usurps the role of Congress in legislating solutions to the complex issues raised by the interplay between new technologies and the nation's copyright laws."
The internet retailer said that the deal could potentially create a "cartel" leaving the public "susceptible to abuses."
It said: "The problem with the proposed settlement from an antitrust perspective is that it rushes to create this cartel while avoiding all restrictions that would cage its power to prevent harm to the public interest.
"The proposed settlement creates a pricing mechanism that is fraught with the dangers associated with price-fixing."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
