Internet search services provider Google, Inc., US, has reportedly apologised to Chinese authors for scanning thousands of their books without obtaining permission from them. The books were included in the controversial Google Books project. A statement by Erik Hartmann, the Asia-Pacific head of Google Books, was posted on the website of the Chinese Writers Association. The Association is one of the groups leading accusations against Google.
According to the China Written Works Copyright Society, thousands of books by Chinese authors were added to Google Books. Google originally claimed ’fair use’ protections in copyright law allowed it to show snippets of in-copyright books that it scanned from US research libraries. The project has raised objections from authors and publishers in Germany, France and the US.
The China Written Works Copyright Society is in talks with Google to try to solve outstanding copyright issues and agree terms for compensation. However, Chinese writers have so far refused the company’s offers.
Publishers and authors have been upset with Google posting extracts of their books online without fairly compensating them. In December 2009, a French court ordered Google to pay more than €300,000 in damages and interest and to stop digital reproduction of the material. As part of the ruling, the company was also ordered to pay €10,000 a day in fines until it removes extracts of some French books from its online database. Earlier last year, Google reached a settlement with publisher and authors in the US over a copyright infringement suit filed in 2005. Google agreed to pay $125 million to solve pending claims and establish an independent unit to provide revenue from advertising and sales to authors and publishers who agree to digitise their books. A US judge has scheduled a hearing for February 18 on the revised settlement.
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