Google Settles Author Lawsuits

Google will pay $125 million to settle a two-year battle over the search engine giant's plan to scan books and make them available to the public. Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers had sued Google over copyright infringement, saying the company would profit from displays portions of books on the Web.

Authors Guild President Roy Blount Jr, had this to say:

The settlement, which must be approved by a federal judge before it takes effect, includes money for now and the prospect of money for later.  There’ll be at least $45 million for authors and publishers whose in-copyright books and other copyrighted texts have been scanned without permission.  If your book was scanned and you own all the rights, you’ll get a small share of this, at least $60, depending on how many rightsholders file claims.

Far more interesting for most of us -- and the ambitious part of our proposal -- is the prospect for future revenues.  Rightsholders will receive a share of revenues from institutional subscriptions to the collection of books made available through Google Book Search under the settlement, as well as from sales of online consumer access to the books. They will also be paid for printouts at public libraries, as well as for other uses.

Read his full statement

The New York Times offers an insightful look at the deal.