Belgian newspapers are seeking more than €30-million from Google, accusing the US internet giant of using articles without permission for two years, their representatives said on Wednesday.

The move by Copiepresse, which represents Belgium's French-language papers, came after talks aimed at settling the copyright dispute "ended at the end of January without result," a spokesperson said.

In February last year, a Brussels court found that "by reproducing on its Google News site articles and short extracts from articles, Google reproduces and communicates to the public works protected by copyright".

Google stopped using articles from newspapers like Le Soir, La Libre Belgique and La Derniere Heure but insisted that it would appeal the ruling.

The US internet search giant also accepted to enter into tough talks with Copiepresse to settle past problems and fix ground rules for their future relations.

"My feeling, is that some at Google didn't want (these talks) to succeed, that they preferred to try to get a better result through appeal," Copiepresse spokesperson Margaret Boribon told AFP.

"There also seemed to be a willingness not to make an acceptable offer, because they thought that any agreement reached with us would lead to similar accords with other newspapers in Europe and around the world," she said.

She said that Copiepresse sent a letter on 22 May to Google with a demand for €32-million to €49-million in damages. The case could be heard by the court of first instance in Brussels in September.

AFP