The wonderful Peter Yang
Google is been sue under copy right law
March 22nd 2010 14:49
(The first two version is written by BBC News Online)
Click here to read the original source
French book publisher sues Google
A French publishing group is to sue Google for publishing book excerpts online without permission.
La Martiniere accuses the technology company of "counterfeiting and breach of intellectual property rights" by digitising about 100 of its titles.
Google is scanning millions of books, allowing users to access the full text of works in the public domain or extracts from those under copyright.
The publisher is demanding 100,000 euros (£69,000) for each book involved.
La Martiniere owns the French company Le Seuil, along with Delachaux and Niestle in Switzerland and Harry N Abrams in the United States.
The lawsuit will be filed in a court in Paris and will target both Google France and its parent company, the American group Google Inc.
In a statement Google said the court case was not necessary as publishers could simply withdraw consent for their use in the service,
"We disagree with their case, which we will contest in court. Google Book Search helps users find and buy books - not read or download them for free."
The statement added: "It is directly beneficial to authors and their publishers because it enables them to reach a wider global audience, while protecting their copyrights.
Criticism of scheme
Google is attempting to copy every book in the collections of several major world libraries unless specifically denied permission to do so by the publisher of a title.
It has faced criticism from organisations such as the Association of American University Presses, which represents 125 non-profit-making academic publishers.
Users can search for full texts or extracts depending on copyright
It claimed the project could undermine sales of works to which publishers own the rights.
"In order for the suit to be effective, we have requested a penalty of 100,000 euros for each infraction discovered and for each day's delay," said Yann Colin, La Martiniere's lawyer.
"That means that if Google breaches a ban... imposed by the court at the end of the proceedings, it would cost Google very dear to carry on."
'Dominance' of English
The national publishers' union of France, Le Syndicat national de l'Edition, has repeatedly condemned the library project and threatened legal action.
There have been concerns in France that the project will enhance the dominance of the English language.
Last year, France and several other European countries received European Union backing for a rival book-scanning project for publications which are not in English.
Supporters of the Google project have argued in the past that copyright is protected because many of the works being scanned initially are old texts not by living authors.
Click here to see the original source
Google is sued by Chinese author Mian Mian
A Beijing judge has told the Chinese novelist Mian Mian, who is suing Google over its plan to create an online library, to hold settlement talks.
After a two-hour hearing, the court ordered both sides to talk but did not set a deadline for reporting back, according to the author's lawyer.
She is seeking damages of 61,000 yuan ($8,950; £5,576) and a public apology.
The lawsuit was filed in October after Google scanned one of Mian Mian's books, Acid House, into its library.
Google said it had removed the book as soon as it learned of the lawsuit, but had no further comment on the case.
Mian Mian writes risque novels - including titles such as Panda Sex and Candy - about China's underworld of sex, drugs and nightlife. Most of her work is banned in China.
She is not alone in complaining about copyright issues raised by Google's online library. The China Written Works Copyright Society is also looking for compensation for other Chinese authors whose work is included in the project.
In France, a court ordered Google to stop digitising French books without the publisher's approval. The search engine was also told to pay 300,000 euros ($430,000; £268,000) in damages and interest to French company La Martiniere, which had sued for copyright infringement for scanning book excerpts.
In the US, Google agreed a $125m settlement with American authors and publishers - although this is still waiting for final court approval.
(Considering most of the drama happens in China, these are two copy of a similar article from China's online English Newspaper)
Click here to read the original source
Google urged by Chinese writers to keep its promise
Last year, search engine Google came under intense fire from Chinese authors, as its digital library used books written by Chinese authors without permission. Google promised to offer a solution to the issue before the end of March 2010. Now Chinese authors are demanding the company fulfill its promise in time.
In November last year, the China Writers Association sent a notice to Google regarding its infringement on the rights of Chinese authors. One month later, Google delivered a list of Chinese books that it had scanned and stored in its online digital library. Among these books, 8 thousand were written by members of the China Writers Association. In January, Google made a public apology to Chinese authors, and offered a timetable to solve the issue. But on January the 12th, the company unilaterally postponed the fourth round of negotiations, and hasn't make any action since then.
Yang Chengzhi, China Writers Assoc., said, "Many authors have repeatedly asked us whether Google will break its promise. If Google respects Chinese authors' legal rights, we hope it will implement its promise which it sent to us in a formal text."
Since the disclosure of the issue, many Chinese authors have questioned Google's behavior.
Zhang Kangkang, China Writers Assoc., said, "The sharing of cultural resources should be based on respecting copyrights. Otherwise, it is just an excuse to illegally use other people's works."
In November last year, Google held three rounds of talks with the China Written Works Society. According to its preliminary list, 80 thousand Chinese books were included in its digital library. But the list was widely questioned, as it only covers books that were published after 1987.
Click here to read the original source
Google's digital library comes under fire
Google has been greatly troubled over its digital library plan. The online collection has aroused opposition in many countries, as authors and publishers voice their doubts and concerns over the violation of copyrights. The Internet giant is now facing increasing lawsuits and warnings worldwide.
Google began setting up its digital library in 2004 to provide a service to American customers. In the past five years, it's put nearly ten million books online.
But insiders in the press as well as the publishing industry claim that Google has scanned books without authorization. And that constitutes a serious violation of copyrights.
In 2005, the digital library plan encountered resistance from US publishers. Since then, Google has faced many copyright hurdles, forcing a review of its actions.
And then the problem extended overseas. At the end of 2009, Japanese authors appealed to the government to ensure that any copies of Japanese publications would have authorization of copyright owners.
However, Google insists that its digital library plan doesn't violate copyrights.
Google's argument was refuted by a French court's rule that it infringed on copyrights by digitizing books and putting extracts online without authorization. The court in Paris ordered the Internet giant to pay over 300-thousand euros in damages and interest as well as stopping digital reproduction of material.
And since then, the lawsuits have been piling up. German chancellor Angela Merkel has stressed that Google should not be exempted from copyright laws.
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