Three powerful technology companies have banded together to oppose Google Inc.’s proposed settlement with the Authors Guild and the Assn. of American Publishers over the Internet search giant’s book scanning project. Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have signed on to a coalition being assembled by the Internet Archive and Gary Reback, a Silicon Valley antitrust lawyer, said Peter Brantley, director of the Internet Archive, a San Francisco nonprofit that is trying to build a free digital library of Internet content. Though the coalition has not been formally announced, several library and journalism associations have already agreed to take part, including the New York Library Assn., the Special Libraries Assn. and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. The group is expected to issue a joint statement next week. The coalition’s members include players who normally would be sitting at opposite sides of the table. Reback, for example, is known for instigating the antitrust efforts against Microsoft. That they have agreed to join forces suggests the magnitude of the concern raised by Google’s book scanning efforts, Brantley said. ‘By having a set of organizations speaking together, we can demonstrate the seriousness which we all confront […]