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Google to Publish Books Online

by Will Safer on October 29, 2008 at 03:22 PM

Google's next foray into content delivery won't be video or music but books – and the Web search company isn't talking about selling the latest Nicholas Sparks best-seller to be read on a dedicated digital reader. Instead, Google will be working with publishers and authors to produce online-only books that will be read on the computers that consumers already have.

While Sony and Amazon would have you believing you need a special device just to read a digital book, Google co-founder Sergey Brin says a computer monitor does the job just fine. "You don't have to look at it at a funny angle, and today's monitors have better resolution than ever."

Four years ago, Google's Book Search project began scanning out-of-print books – a seemingly smart thing to do and a good service for people trying to track down some old, maybe unpopular tomes. But publishers responded with lawsuits, claiming Google was infringing on their copyrights. Since then, Google has also scanned in-print books and included links for consumers to buy the whole book when they find a work they like.

This time around, after agreeing to settle the suit for $125 million, Google is working with the publishers to make sure everyone involved gets their due. Court approval of the settlement is expected for summer of 2009, and that's when authors who have registered with Google will be able to make their books available. The authors will set the price and get about 50-percent of the sale. Out-of-print books still under copyright will be easier for publishers to arrange for sale on Google Book Search, so you might not have to dig so hard at the used book store or the library for a missing novel or poetry compendium. [From: USA Today.]

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, e-books, Google Book Search, GoogleBookSearch, lawsuit

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