Google offers books for free

Google Book Search now offers PDF files of scanned books that can be downloaded and printed for free, Google announced on Wednesday.

Readers can find the books by choosing the "Full view books" option on the Google Book Search homepage before they activate their search. Once they have chosen a book from the results page, a download button is clearly visible on the top-right corner of the page.

The PDFs are offered only for those books that fall into the public domain and are intended for personal use.

A Google spokeswoman said: "We use very conservative rules to comply with international copyright laws."

A book's availability depends on the country from which the user is accessing the site. Google blocks users from works that are not yet in the public domain for their country, she said.

A carefully worded note on usage from Google, included as the first page of each downloaded PDF file, explains what "public domain" means and how it can vary by country. Google also notes that users are responsible for following their own country's copyright laws.

Google lists as usage guidelines: "Make noncommercial use of the file. Refrain from automated querying. Maintain attribution. Keep it legal."

The bottom right-hand corner of every PDF book page contains a "Digitized by Google" watermark.

While Google Book Search limits the amount of copyright text a person can view in one session, Google has been criticised for the project, which entails scanning entire works, many protected by copyright, in order to make them searchable online. Microsoft began a similar project but has offered an opt-in method for publishers rather than an opt-out one.

Partners in Google's project to digitise library books in the UK and the US include Harvard University, The New York Public Library, Oxford University, Stanford University, the University of California and the University of Michigan.

Candace Lombardi writes for CNET News.com