Google settles book scanning lawsuit

Last week, Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers announced that they had settled their lawsuit on Google’s book scanning project. If approved by a judge, the proposed settlement would expand access to books:

  • Free previews available for more books
  • Free full-text access at public libraries across the country
  • Institutional subscriptions to in-copyright, out-of-print books
  • Ability for individuals to purchase full online access to many books
  • Opportunties for scholars to conduct advanced computational research

The University of California, the University of Michigan, and Stanford University issued a joint statement of support for the agreement. For more information, see the new Google website on The Future of Book Search, highlighting potential changes based on the settlement.