Google willing to share digital books with rivals

Google will let other online companies sell its digital copies of out-of-print books if a class-action settlement with U.S. authors and publishers wins court approval.

Google will let other online companies sell its digital copies of out-of-print books if a class-action settlement with U.S. authors and publishers wins court approval.

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The company announced that concession Thursday after mounting opposition to Google's 10-month-old settlement. Among other things, opponents of the deal argue it would give Google a digital monopoly on millions of books that are no longer being published. Google now says it will give Amazon.com and other rivals to its digital library of out-of-print books.

The other merchants would then be allowed to keep most of the revenue from the sales. Google announced the change shortly after the head of the US Copyright Office advised a congressional committee that parts of the settlement violate federal law.