Paris-based Agence France-Presse has agreed to drop a lawsuit against Google and has signed a licensing agreement that will enable Google to use AFP's newswire content, reports CNET.

AFP sued Google in March 2005 for $17.5 million in damages over alleged copyright infringement by Google's news site, claiming that the search giant was posting headlines, photographs and news summaries without permission.

Google will now be able to post AFP news stories and photographs on Google News aggregator and other Google services. No other details or financial terms were made public.

In August 2006 Google forged a similar agreement with the Associated Press. In that deal, Google agreed to pay the AP for the use of its news and photos, but said the content would not be used for Google News but in a yet-to-be-released Google product.