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Google Apologizes to Chinese Authors Over Book Project

Google apologized Sunday to angry Chinese authors for scanning thousands of their books without permission and including them in the controversial Google Books project attempt to create the digital library of the future, Agence France Presse reports. A copy of the January 9 statement by the Asia-Pacific head of Google Books, Erik Hartmann, was posted […]

Google apologized Sunday to angry Chinese authors for scanning thousands of their books without permission and including them in the controversial Google Books project attempt to create the digital library of the future, Agence France Presse reports.

A copy of the January 9 statement by the Asia-Pacific head of Google Books, Erik Hartmann, was posted on the website of the Chinese Writers Association, one of the groups leading accusations against Google, on Sunday. [...]

"Through the discussions and communications of recent months, it is our understanding that our communications with Chinese writers have not been good enough," Hartmann's written statement said.[...]

According to the China Written Works Copyright Society, tens of thousands of books by hundreds of Chinese authors have been added to Google Books, the US giant's project to digitise books and post them online.

Google originally claimed 'fair use' protections in copyright law allowed it to show snippets of in-copyright books that it scanned from U.S. research libraries. But the software and advertising giant dropped that defense in favor of a 2008 settlement with a group of authors that would give Google wider and exclusive rights in return for sharing advertising and sales revenue with copyright holders.

That agreement remains in limbo after other authors, Google competitors and the Justice Department convinced a federal judge in October to make the company substantially alter the agreement.

via Google apologises to Chinese writers over book flap - Yahoo News.

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