Andre Yoskowitz
10 Jan 2010 15:06
Google is on the verge of settling with Chinese authors, says the Chinese Writers' Association, after months of fighting over whether Google had the right to scan books and upload them for its giant online library.
"Following discussions and communications in recent months, we do believe that our communication with Chinese writers has not been good enough," Google said in a letter to the Association. "Google is ready to apologize to Chinese writers about this." The letter was signed by Erik Hartmann, Asia-Pacific head of Google Books.
Just last month, the case of author Mian Mian went to Chinese court and the judge told both sides to settle the case.
Overall, Google has scanned 10 million books since 2004, getting consent for 2 million from publishers. Another 2 million are public domain. The remaining 6 million are still in dispute.