Internet search services provider Google Inc., US, has reportedly ended legal disputes with a French publishing trade group and a French authors’ association over the company’s scanning of books.
The Syndicat National de l’Edition and the SGDL Society of Authors agreed with Google to end litigation over Google’s scanning of copyright-protected books without permission. The Syndicat National de l’Edition represents more than 600 publishers in France. With this move, Google no longer faces French legal action over book scanning.
Google is working to improve its relationship with French industry groups and regulators after disputes over privacy and access to copyrighted content. It has also settled legal disputes with the Hachette Livre unit of Lagardere SCA (MMB) and La Martiniere Groupe that allowed it scan out-of-print works that are still copyrighted.
According to Philippe Colombet, Google Books’ strategic partner development manager in France, the company plans to sell some of the scanned copyrighted works as electronic books. It will share the proceeds with publishers under individual deals where the ‘majority of the revenue comes to the publisher.’
Google would financially support the SGDL Society of Authors’ development of a database of book authors and right-owners to settle legal proceedings over the scanning of copyright-protected books for its digital library, the company and the SGDL said in a joint statement. Google declined to disclose the financial terms of the support.
The SGDL, which represents 6,000 French and French-speaking authors, said the agreement would reaffirm the position of authors and help them protect their rights online.
