Google has achieved a major breakthrough with its online book
project following the settlement of its long-running litigation
with various publishers.
In 2004, Google launched its Google Print Project. The project
has two components: the Print Publisher Program and the Print
Library Project. The Print Publisher Program involves Google
entering into agreements with book publishers authorising Google to
scan the full text of their books into Google's online
searchable database. When a user searches online for the book or
for particular text, the Google database displays bibliographic
information about the book and a link to the text within the search
query. Clicking on the link takes the user to a full page of the
book containing the search query plus pages before and after that
page. If the user decides to purchase the book then Google and the
publisher share in the payment. The publisher may also share in
advertising revenue if Google ads appear adjacent to the pages.
