Google writes out cheque to end copyright dispute

Google and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and Authors Guild announced on Tuesday that they have settled a copyright dispute over the Internet giant's plans to scan millions of books.

The agreement calls for Google to pay 125 million dollars to establish a "Book Rights Registry," resolve claims by authors and publishers and to cover legal fees from a lawsuit filed against Google three years ago.

US authors and book publishers filed a class-action lawsuit against Google after it announced a project called Google Book Search, a plan to scan millions of books and make them searchable on the Web.

"The agreement acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright owners, provides an efficient means for them to control how their intellectual property is accessed online and enables them to receive compensation for online access to their works," Google, the Authors Guild and AAP said in a statement.

"Holders worldwide of US copyrights can register their works with the Book Rights Registry and receive compensation from institutional subscriptions, book sales, ad revenues and other possible revenue models, as well as a cash payment if their works have already been digitized," the statement said.

The agreement, reached after two years of negotiations, is subject to approval by a US District Court.