Finally, some developments in the Google Book Settlement case: At a “status hearing” in New York, an attorney for the publishers trying to strike a new deal with Google asked Judge Denny Chin for another sixty days, saying they were still working on it. The Judge said, “”Okay.” Total time of hearing: Five minutes.

However, according to a Publishers Weekly report by Andrew Albanese,

While the hearing itself was uneventful, statements made by publishers and authors after the hearing were perhaps more telling. “The parties have held conversations to determine if a revised agreement is possible,” said AAP president and CEO Tom Allen in s statement. “Those conversations are ongoing and if not successful, the litigation will resume.” In a brief statement, Authors Guild executive director Paul Aiken said authors were “giving settlement discussions a fair shot before pressing ahead with our litigation.” Google had no statement at press time.

Those statements stand in contrast to statements made just after the settlement’s rejection on March 22, when publishers and authors expressed eagerness to strike a revised deal. Certainly, statements raising the specter of renewed litigation strike a different tone going forward, and suggests that after more than two years of stumping together with Google for the settlement, the parties’ fragile alliance may be under stress. At the very least, the lack of progress reported Wednesday, along with the statements from publishers and authors, suggest a new reality: coming to a revised agreement will be no easy task.

If you no longer remember what this is all about, here’s the backgrounder you need.