• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, March 9, 2006

Google has agreed to settle a class-action click fraud lawsuit with an offer to provide up to $90 million worth of ad credits to marketers who have been charged for invalid clicks. The deal, announced Wednesday, still has to be approved by the judge handling the case.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed in Arkansas in February by Lane's Gifts and Collectibles, which claimed it had paid for clicks that were fraudulent and sought class-action status on behalf of other search advertisers.

In a Wednesday afternoon post on the Google blog, associate general counsel Nicole Wong wrote that the companies were "very near a resolution."

Under the proposed agreement, Google would allow any advertisers who believe they have paid for invalid clicks at any time since 2002 to contact the company and apply for reimbursement. Normally, Google requires marketers to contact it within 60 days of the allegedly fraudulent clicks.

"For all eligible invalid clicks, we will offer credits which can be used to purchase new advertising with Google. We do not know how many will apply and receive credits, but under the agreement, the total amount of credits, plus attorneys fees, will not exceed $90 million," Wong wrote.