After literally dozens of metoo infringement lawsuits against the AI titans in multiple jurisdictions, on Friday three publishers filed a suit against Google in the Southern District of New York that stands on new, undisputable legal ground if supported by the facts. They allege that Google “illegally copied works” from such “scope-limited programs” as Google Books, the Google Play ebookstore, and Google Scholar in order “to train early iterations of the Gemini [AI] Models.” That behavior would be clear copyright infringement, outside of any conceivable Fair Use defense or other grey area related to the transformative development of AI models. […]
KDP Raises Price Ceiling for 70 Percent Royalty Rate for the First Time
Amazon announced that for those using Kindle Direct Publishing, the 70 percent royalty has expanded from a top price of $9.99 up to $12.99, effective July 7, “with equivalent changes in other KDP marketplaces” around the world. That is the first increase in the price band since 2007. As the Authors Guild notes, “This move also brings Amazon closer in line with its competitors: Apple Books and Barnes & Noble Press pay a flat 70 percent at every price point, and Kobo pays 70 percent on any ebook priced at $2.99 or above.”
BNED to Pay A Dividend
Barnes & Noble Education announced final fiscal 2026 results on Thursday afternoon, in line with the advance estimates provided last month. After recording net income for the first time since fiscal 2017, earning $16.9 million for the year, BNED said it would pay an inaugural dividend of 8 cents per share to shareholders of record on July 16, 2026. For the full year, the company had sales of $1.715 billion. Same-store sales rose by $71.3 million, up 4.4 percent for the year. Adjusted EBITDA was $76.5 million, and total debt at year-end was $71 million. They opened 50 stores during […]
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UCP Workers Guild Gains Recognition from NLRB; Harper’s Union Goes On Strike
Employees at the University of Chicago Press have officially joined the Chicago News Guild, after a supermajority voted in favor of unionizing. In May, the company declined to formally recognize the union. The news follows recent successful unionization efforts at the American Library Association, Dark Horse Media, Catapult, and Hachette Book Group. Elsewhere, the editorial staff of Harper’s Magazine, union members of UAW Local 2110, are holding a one-day strike today to protest the magazine’s contract offer. The union has been in contract negotiations with management since forming in 2024.
E-Book Pricing Antitrust Case Against Amazon May Become Class Action
The improbable antitrust lawsuit alleging that the large trade publishers willingly colluded with Amazon to help the etailer maintain monopoly-level control of ebook prices and overcharged ebook buyers $740 million since 2017 remains alive in the Southern District of New York. (The original suit was dismissed in 2022; this is a refiled, amended version.) In a Wednesday hearing on whether to certify certain ebook buyers as a class, Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein appeared to side with plaintiffs, MLex reports. The proposed class would be “anyone who purchased one or more trade e-books sold by the publishers via an agency model […]