Chinese writer Li Chengpeng sued Apple Inc. for selling unlicensed electronic versions of his books via its iTunes store on October 11, along with seven other Chinese writers, including Han Han, Hao Qun and Han Ailian. They demanded a total compensation of 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) from Apple for uploading their works to iTunes and selling them to readers without their permission. However, Apple argued that it was the application developers who should stand trial. It further claimed that after it deleted the works in question from the online store, there have been no violations and therefore they need not pay compensations. The plaintiffs retorted that since Apple owns and manages the App stores, it should not evade its responsibility.

Li, 44, once a soccer commentator and now a social critic and best-selling writer, has captured public attention in recent years for his humor and biting satire.