Google has buried the hatchet with book publishers and authors and announced plans to pay US$125 million to settle a copyright lawsuit over its plan to scan millions of books.

The settlement between Google and the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers was reached after two years of arguing, hand wringing and the occasional knife fight over a lake of wild alligators. Basically, Google will pay US$125 million to establish an independent, non-profit Book Rights Registry. This will resolve outstanding claims by authors and publishers and to cover legal fees from class-action lawsuits against Google.

In a joint statement, Google, the publishers and authors said the settlement agreement "acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright owners, provides an efficient means for them to control how their intellectual property is accessed online and enables them to receive compensation for online access to their works."

Authors and publishers whose books have already been scanned without permission and the remainder to reimburse legal fees will collect US$45 million. Holders worldwide of U.S. copyrights can register their works with the Book Rights Registry and receive compensation from institutional subscriptions, book sales, ad revenues and other possible revenue models, as well as a cash payment if their works have already been digitized.