Google To Stop Scanning And Publishing Works Of Chinese Authors

Google Inc., the California based search engine giant, has agreed to remove the literary works of Chinese authors uploaded on its Google Books database following protests from a group of Chinese authors.

Google, which is right behind Baidu Inc. in the Chinese search engine market, has apologised to China Writer Association for scanning and uploading books written by Chinese authors without their permission. 

The letter of apology, which was issued on January 9 2010, saw the internet giant pledging that it will “respect the wishes of any Chinese author who hasn’t authorized their books to be scanned.” 

The document, which was sent by Google Books Asia Chief Erik Hartmann, also apologised for ‘inadequate miscommunication’ with Chinese Authors Association, Google spokeswoman Jennie Johnson has confirmed.

Google Books, an initiative undertaken by Google in 2004, aims to scan and catalogue all the books in the world and bring them on a single platform. Google has partnered with over 30,000 publishers and 40 libraries across the world.