Search Page

In recent years, literature and broadcasts on a specific theme "campaigns against corruption and mismanagement" have become favourites for Chinese publishing houses and TV stations. Books on this subject frequently make best-seller lists while their TV adaptations are broadcast in prime time on channels of the national China Central Television (CCTV) network and provincial stations.

The 11th Inter-provincial education ministers' meeting has approved a new textbook policy. This includes that the provincial textbook boards should invite book development proposals from all stakeholders concerned, including private publishers. Submitted books would be evaluated and ranked. The Ministry of Education will establish five resource centres in each textbook board for upgrading the capacity of small publishers.

A German professor has won a precedent-setting case to prevent European Union publishers from using university-collated compendiums of out-of-copyright materials to produce their own commercial collections of works. A ruling from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said that publishers could be blocked from selling these books, if they "transfer a substantial part" of the original source to their own publication.

In an unprecedented crackdown on academic misconduct, as many as 179 university professors from some 110 universities in South Korea were indicted on Monday after an extensive criminal investigation into a huge copyright scam. The professors have been charged with republishing existing textbooks written by others under their own names by modifying the covers with the alleged connivance of the publishing companies.