Google would also be given the right to digitise orphan works, titles where the authors cannot be found.

BBC: Google hits back at book critics

Should the settlement be cleared, it will permit Google non-exclusive rights to orphan works (those without an established writer) and will give it a 30 per cent cut of books sold via Google Books, both things that authors have agreed to.

ENGADGET: Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo unite against Google Books

This compares with 83 of 291 drugs that were not granted orphan status but were also considered to be blockbusters, and this also works out to 29 percent.

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Unless ablation's backers can produce hard data showing how well it works, the procedure may continue to be a bit of an orphan.

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