Justice reviews Google settlement on scanning

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking information from the publishing industry about its settlement of a book-scanning dispute with Google Inc., indicating that a formal investigation may be under way.
The Authors Guild has received a civil investigative demand from the agency, said Paul Aiken, executive director of the New York-based group, which was part of the settlement. Hachette Book Group, a publishing company in New York, also received a formal request for information from the Justice Department, spokeswoman Sophie Cottrell said last week.
Google, which is creating an online book database by scanning millions of titles, reached a $125 million deal with publishers last year to settle copyright issues. The agreement could make Google the main online source for millions of out-of-print books, raising antitrust concerns.
Gina Talamona, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, declined to comment on the inquiries.
The agency and several state attorneys general have contacted Google to learn about the effect of the settlement, said Gabriel Stricker, a company spokesman.
“We are happy to answer their questions,” Stricker said. “It’s important to note that this agreement is nonexclusive, and if approved by the court, stands to expand access to millions of books in the U.S.”
If it clears, the settlement would end four years of wrangling between Google and publishers. The company was sued in 2005 by the Authors Guild, Pearson Plc’s Penguin unit, McGraw-Hill Cos., John Wiley & Sons Inc. and CBS Corp.’s Simon & Schuster. They claimed the digitizing process infringed their copyrights.
Google, which began scanning books in 2004, uses volumes from Harvard University, the New York Public Library and other sources. The project lets users search through books, bringing up pages or excerpts that contain sought-for terms. •