Mian Mian, a well-known Chinese author, is filing a lawsuit against Google in Beijing court, alleging that the company has scanned one of her most recent novels into the Google Books online database without her authorization. This is the first Google Books-related copyright infringement lawsuit filed Google in China.

Accusing Google of copyright infringement, Mian Mian told AFP that her book, ‘Acid Lovers,’ had been scanned by Google as part of its book digitization project.

A Google spokeswoman in Beijing clarified that Mian’s works were removed from Google’s library when the company heard about the case.

Meanwhile, the China Written Works Copyright Society representatives claim that tens of thousands of books by several Chinese authors have been added to Google Books, and that talks with Google on the subject were “progressing well.”

Zhang Hongbo, the society’s deputy director-general, told Global Times newspaper: “First we want Google to admit their mistake and apologise, then we can talk about compensation.”

Commenting on the Google Books deal, digital media specialist Thomas Crampton said: “You might argue that they are the most innovative and they are building this platform first, and they are allowing people to access this information first ... but they are coming up against a lot of copyright laws, most of which were written well before the internet era.”