SEO Blog

This morning we have two complaints related to Google. One is from a French publisher in the process of suing the search engine giant. The other is from a UK publishers’ association.

This all stems from Google’s Library Project, whereby Google has made agreements with several large worldwide libraries to copy books over to digital form. These materials are then made available via Google Book Search. Clicking a link from Book Search results provides users with a snippet view, sample view, or book view of the material, if the author or publisher has granted permission. Users can then purchase these books by clicking links to online bookstores.

The French publisher La Martiniere is accusing Google of copyright infringement, stating that Google is granting access to text excerpts of works they own without permission. The company is demanding 100,000 euros for each book Google copies. The lawsuit will be filed in Paris.

UK publishers are also clashing heads with Google over the same issue, feeling the project is jeopardizing the function of the print industry.

This isn’t surprising. A report from Google Blogoscoped states that exterior Google portals are being blocked in China by the government. The only Google site that currently works is the censored google.cn. Check out the full blog here.