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Politicians Back ‘Heidelberg Appeal’: German Authors Outraged at Google Book Search
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Google wants to make millions of books accessible online. But a group of German authors are enraged at not having been asked for permission to use their books -- and at the mere $60 they might get for each one. Now German politicians are also voicing their dismay and pledging to protect author rights.

German politicians have voiced their support for an appeal by 1,300 German authors who believe that the search-engine giant Google is violating copyright laws by allowing their works to be viewed online free of charge and without previous author approval.

The appeal came in the form of a letter -- known as the “Heidelberg Appeal" -- sent last week to German President Horst Köhler, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of Germany's 16 federal states. It alleges that "intellectual property is being stolen from its producers to an unimagined degree and without criminalization through the illegal publication of works protected by German copyright law."

The letter urges the government to wage "a resolute defense, with all the means at their disposal" to protect intellectual property rights and the freedoms related to publishing. "If we loose it," the appeal ends, "we loose our future." >>> jtw | Monday, April 27, 2009