US publishers sue Amazon for copyright infringement

US 9 GN): Amazon.com Inc’s Audible was sued by some of the top U.S. publishers for copyright infringement on Friday, aiming to block a planned rollout of a feature called ‘Audible Captions’ that shows the text on screen as a book is narrated.
The lawsuit was filed by seven members of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), including HarperCollins Publishers, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan Publishers.
“Essentially Audible wants to provide the text as well as the sound of books without the authorization of copyright holders, despite only having the right to sell audiobooks,” AAP said in a statement.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Int’l folk art festival held in N China

Xinhua (HOHHOT): The 11th China International Folk Art Festival was held Friday in Hohhot, capital of north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the organizer.
The six-day event attracted more than 600 folk artists from 13 countries including Uzbekistan, Iran and Vanuatu.
“The festival is not only a stage for diverse arts, but a platform for cultural communication among countries and civilizations,” said Dong Zhanshun, director of the international liaison department of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
“I am honored to perform in China representing my country and help Chinese audiences know about our country and culture,” said Peter Kalo, a dancer from Vanuatu.
The festival was founded in 1990 and is held every three years, attracting a total of more than 3,000 foreign artists from 65 countries.