A new project is underway to foster public discussion about the ramifications of the Google Book Search settlement, the New York Law School announced this week.

The initiative will see the launch of a new website later this month, known as the Public Index, that will include discussion forums, an archive of documents related to the settlement, and a tool that will enable users to share commentary on aspects of the proposed settlement. The group will also submit an “open-source amicus brief” to the court overseeing the lawsuit and is organizing a conference to coincide with the recently rescheduled Oct. 7 fairness hearing in New York.

The project is being staffed by NYLS law students under the leadership of Professor James Grimmelmann, a prominent legal commentator on the Google settlement in the U.S. and the author of the frequently cited article “How to Fix the Google Book Search Settlement.” Blink while reading the official release, however, and you may miss that the project is being underwritten by Google competitor Microsoft.

From the NYLS release:

The Public Index will respond to the enormous public interest in the lawsuit by providing both high-quality information about the issues and a forum for the public to make their own voices heard, Professor Grimmelmann said.

(Thanks to MobyLives for the tip.)