Univ. of Michigan, Google amend book scanning deal

(AP) -- The University of Michigan has amended a deal with Google Inc. to create digital copies of millions of library books and journals.

The deal announced Wednesday amends a partnership started in 2004. That deal hit an obstacle when authors and publishers filed a federal court lawsuit claiming the pact violated copyright laws.

Google and the publishing industry agreed last year to settle the suit, and a final hearing on the matter is pending. The settlement calls for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google to pay $125 million while developing online sales opportunities for scanned books that turn up in Google searches.

The Ann Arbor university says the revised deal strengthens library preservation efforts and increases the public's access to books.

©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.