Copyright Law
$125M Google Settlement Paves Way for Online Book Publishing
Posted Oct 28, 2008, 10:02 am CST
By Martha Neil
Google Inc. is proclaiming victory over its agreement to pay $125 million to settle copyright litigation by publishers and authors.
The settlement, the Internet search engine giant says, will allow it to expand a book-scanning project and provide greater online access to tomes once available only in hard copy format, reports Bloomberg. The settlement, which will allow Internet users to buy online books from Google, also provides for a registry to compensate publishers and authors.
"The project, which began in 2004, includes Harvard University, the New York Public Library and about 10,000 publishers in an effort to make books searchable online," the news agency writes.
The settlement concludes two lawsuits filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York.