Second Circuit Judge Denny Chin is urging negotiators in the Google book case to quickly resolve the issue. Google Inc. has been in litigation for its plan to create the largest digital library in the world without breaking the Copyright Act. Chin gave lawyers on both sides of the case a warning to make quick progress or he will take the decision into his own hands.

The practice in question is whether or not Google is within the “fair use” guidelines by publishing small sections or “snippets” of a book without the consent of the copyright holders. Judge Chin also announced his concern that the case has been going on for six years. He rejected a deal in March for $125 million between Google and publishers and authors that are claiming infringement.

The lawsuit by the Authors Guild was initialized in 2005 when Google neglected to obtain permission to publish parts of the books. A tentative settlement was reached between the parties more than two years ago and a fairness hearing was scheduled for 2009. But, after argument from the U.S. Department of Justice that the agreement would violate the antitrust law, Chin postponed the hearing.

Since 2004 Google has scanned over 12 million books that were added to their massive online library. The judge reminded the lawyers for both sides that the litigation is not for “the sale of completed copyright works,” but for the publication of small sections of the books. Coming to a settlement is no easy task as the litigation includes business matters as well as legal ones.