US universities hit with copyright infringement suit

Internet giant Google has issued a public apology to Chinese writers and admitted that it scanned books under Chinese copyright for its Google Books digital library project.A copy of the January 9 statement by the Asia-Pacific head of Google Books, Erik Hartmann, was posted on the website of the Chinese Writers Association, one of the groups leading accusations against Google, on Sunday.Hartmann also appeared on Chinese state-run television on Sunday acknowledging the practice of scanning books had angered Chinese writers.

Two of the screenwriters of the first G.I. Joe movie have filed a multi-million copyright infringement suit against Paramount Pictures, MGM, Hasbro and Di Bonaventura Pictures.

Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon have signed on to a coalition that opposes the search giant's proposed settlement with the Authors Guild and the Assn. of American Publishers. Three powerful technology companies have banded together to oppose Google Inc.'s proposed settlement with the Authors Guild and the Assn.

A group of music publishers filed suit Wednesday against LimeWire, a popular online file-sharing service that has already been found liable for copyright infringement in a separate case.Eight members of the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) filed a copyright infringement suit in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the NMPA said in a statement.They accused LimeWire of "copyright infringement of their musical works on a massive scale" and are seeking unspecified relief and damages.

Despite fierce resistance to Google's plans to digitise the world's books, observers say it is well placed to start scanning Europe's cultural treasures -- beginning in France, where the US giant got a digital foothold this week.The Internet search giant on Monday began peeling open the pages of half a million books from the grand Municipal Library of Lyon and is contracted to scan them within 10 years, the library's director Patrick Bazin told AFP.

A US judge on Wednesday allowed Google and US authors and publishers more time to seek a new settlement over the Internet giant's plan to create a massive online library and bookstore.US District Court Judge Denny Chin gave Google and the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) until July 19 to hammer out a deal to settle a 2005 class action charging Google with copyright infringement over its huge book-scanning project.

Internet giant's goal of a digital library may hit a copyright speed bump.