On October 28, 2008 the Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and Google announced the landmark settlement of Authors Guild v. Google. On this page, we've gathered documents and links that will be of interest to authors and others regarding this settlement.

Critical Dates:

January 5, 2009: Notice is mailed to rightsholders around the world and published in newspapers and magazines. A preliminary list of books covered by the settlement becomes available to rightsholders.

May 5, 2009: The last day to opt out of the settlement as a whole. The online list of books covered by the settlement is final.

June 11, 2009: A court hearing will take place to determine the fairness of the settlement.

January 5, 2010:  Deadline for filing claim for cash payment for Google's pre-settlement scanning and digitization of books.

Preliminary Approval Order  November 17, 2008

Settlement Agreement   October 28, 2008

Class Notice  October 28, 2008

Settlement Website  Official Website

Roy Blount's Message to Authors Guild Members  October 28, 2008

How the Settlement Will Work

Press Resources:

Press Conference Remarks of Guild Executive Director  October 28, 2008

Press Release  October 28, 2008

Press FAQs  October 28, 2008

University Joint Press Release October 28, 2008.  University of Michigain, University of California and Stanford Press Release

Litigation History:

Authors Guild v. Google  September 20, 2005.  Authors' Initial Complaint

McGraw-Hill v. Google  October 19, 2005. Publishers' Initial Complaint

McGraw-Hill v. Google  November 8, 2005.  Google's Answer to Publishers' Complaint

Authors Guild v. Google  November 30, 2005. Google's Answer to Authors' Complaint