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Google settles eight-year court fight with U.S. publishers

After an eight-year legal dispute, Google has settled with U.S. publishers over its book-scanning Library Project.

In a joint statement, Google and the Association of American Publishers report that “U.S. publishers can choose to make available or choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project. Those deciding not to remove their works will have the option to receive a digital copy for their use.”

Under the agreement, Library Project titles will now be included in Google Books, which allows readers to view up 20 per cent of a book’s contents before purchasing digital versions through the Google Play media shop.

Although settlement details have not been made public, an unnamed Google representative told Paid Content the company “has very robust plans to increase analytics” with publishers, significant because “publishers have long been frustrated by Amazon’s unwillingness to share valuable data such as customer profiles or buying habits.”

Since the Library Project’s inception, over 20 million books have been scanned. A lawsuit filed by the Authors Guild, which argues that the project is in violation of copyright laws, is still active.

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