The judge granted preliminary approval to the settlement--which would have permitted the digitization of millions of books and granted copyright holders a share of Google's revenue--back in November 2009. But objectors to the deal, including the Justice Department, ultimately convinced Judge Chin the settlement wasn't "fair, adequate, and reasonable."

"We were dealing with people at DOJ that were, in fact, very smart and, in fact, very fair and open-minded," said Brodsky, who represented AIG executive Andrew Forster.

While Chevron's fight in the Second Circuit to obtain outtakes from the documentary Crude has become a First Amendment cause c�l�bre, the larger story is about the wholesale export of U.S.-style discovery to international disputes.

The copyright battle between the major television networks and a pair of online TV startups isn't over. But thanks to Smith and Garrett, the networks may finally be winning.