Agreement Reached on Google Book SearchADOTAS – After two years of haggling, it looks like Google Book Search may be able to move forward. Google has come to an agreement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers – to the tune of $125 million, which Google must shell out to the Book Rights Registry and to settle a lawsuit.
The registry will allow U.S. copyright holders to register their works so they can share any revenue that comes from ad and retail sales online.
“Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Today, together with the authors, publishers, and libraries, we have been able to make a great leap in this endeavor,” said Sergey Brin, co-founder and president of technology at Google. “While this agreement is a real win-win for all of us, the real victors are all the readers. The tremendous wealth of knowledge that lies within the books of the world will now be at their fingertips.”
The agreement is still pending court approval.
