Search giant Google has settled a lawsuit with academic publisher the American Chemical Society (“ACS”).
In 2004, ACS filed a lawsuit against Google claiming that the free “Google Scholar” journal-search service unfairly competes with ACS’ “SciFinder Scholar,” which appears to be more comprehensive but charges a fee.
“SciFinder Scholar is well-known and long has been well-received throughout the academic community, and we must protect our name and the good will the tool has already achieved,” an ACS representative said in 2004.
My how things can change. The case was quietly settled out of court in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, with Google and ACS submitting a joint two-page document that says each side will pay its own attorney fees.
As of yesterday, Google Scholar still exists in beta form and does not appear to have been altered in response to the lawsuit. Google says the service indexes “peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles” from professional societies and other scholarly organizations.
Note: In April, Microsoft launched a rival to Google Scholar called Windows Live Academic.