U.S. Antitrust Regulators To Investigate Google's $125 Million Copyright Settlement

New York, NY (AHN) - Google Inc. (NASDAQ GS:GOOG) is being investigated by U.S. antitrust regulators after the search engine giant reached a $125 million settlement of copyright issues with authors and publishers.

The U.S. Justice Department confirmed on July 2 that it will probe into the case as several issues were raised on the settlement, which was signed in October and is subject to federal court's review.

Under the settlement agreement, Google can post millions of books online, as well as receive a share of online book sales and advertisements.

In a letter to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which is expected to conduct final trail on the lawsuit that groups representing authors and publishers filed against Google, the Justice Department pointed out that the settlement could violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.

"At this preliminary stage, the United States has reached no conclusions as to the merit of those concerns or more broadly what impact this settlement may have on competition," The New York Times quoted William F. Cavanaugh, a deputy assistant attorney general, as stating in the letter.

Cavanaugh added, "However, we have determined that the issues raised by the proposed settlement warrant further inquiry." The U.S. District Court in New York will conduct a final hearing on the settlement in October.

The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers had filed the class action lawsuit against Google in 2005 as the publishers and authors were against the company's plan to digitize millions of books from libraries and make profit from it, violating their copyrights.