Google Inc. and a group of publishers have agreed to a settlement over making digital copies of books, capping seven years of litigation prompted by the search giant's effort to become the world's largest digital library.
Google and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) said on Thursday that U.S. publishers can decide whether they want their books made available through Google or not.
Google Books allows users to browse up to 20 per cent of the books in its library and then purchase digital versions through Google Play. Publishers get a percentage of any sale.
Google has spent years scanning some 20 million books in partnership with major libraries. This angered publishers and authors who contended Google violated copyright laws when it failed to seek their permission.
Google was sued in 2005 by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers for violating copyright laws. In 2008, they reached a settlement in which Google agreed to pay $125 million to people whose copyrighted books had been scanned, and to locate and share revenue with the authors who have yet to come forward.
But the Justice Department, and other critics, said the deal was illegal. A federal court agreed, and rejected it.
The lawsuit was filed by McGraw-Hill Companies, Pearson Education and its sister Penguin Group USA, John Wiley & Sons and Simon & Schuster.
The Authors Guild said it would fight on. "Google continues to profit from its use of millions of copyright-protected books without regard to authors' rights, and our class-action lawsuit on behalf of U.S. authors continues," it said.
