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."

Yang Chengzhi, China Writers Assoc.

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."

Zhang Kangkang, China Writers Assoc.

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.