Google accused of 'malicious revenge'

• Source: Global Times
• [04:11 October 27 2009]
• Comments

Some Internet browser programs, such as Firefox and Safari, also provide such a service to detect viruses, and they can block suspected websites, Cui said.

Likefar.com, a forum on outdoor activities, was also blocked recently, but its page came back online soon afterward.

The blockage might sometimes happen when a blog on the website has some features the blogger chose to add, which may contain a suspicious code, Cui said.

Access to the book channel of people.com.cn from Google resumed Saturday.

Copyright controversy

Google is accused of violating the copyright of Chinese writers by launching the digital library.

"The most frustrating thing is that the firm sent us a letter after a long time, demanding that the legal issues be discussed at its headquarters in the US," Zhang Hongbo, the director general of the China Written Works Copyright Society (CWWCS), said.

Earlier this month, the search engine unilaterally promised to offer authors who accept Google's scan $60 per book as compensation, but under the condition that the writers apply for the compensation within a limited time, which has stunned writers, calling the agreement terms unfair.

It is not the first time the company has offered a "settlement agreement."

Early in 2005, the Writers Guild of America and the Association of American publishers filed a class-action lawsuit against Google's infringement of copyright, which lasted more than two years and delayed Google's ambitious digital library plan.

The final agreement was reached in October 2008, with Google entitled to own the right to use those books, while the copyright holders will profit from revenue sharing, including subscription, book sales and advertisements.

"Google's digital library, despite being free, is part of the company's strategy to woo pageview and hits," Liu Shijie, a lawer at Dacheng Law Firm, told the Global Times.

Zhang Han and Guo Qiang contributed to this story