Register of Copyrights and director of the US Copyright Office Shira Perlmutter formally responded to US Senate ranking member on the subcommittee on intellectual property Thom Tillis’s request for an analysis of Maryland’s recently-enacted law regulating library lending of ebooks and similar efforts pending on other states. Tillis was clearly looking for confirmation of his inference “that these state legislative efforts would appear to directly conflict with the Copyright Act’s clear language” and “preemption rules that situate copyright law exclusively at the federal level.” Perlmutter concurs, noting, “We conclude that under current precedent, the state laws at issue are likely […]
Archives for August 2021
Anthony Awards
Bookselling: Two New Barnes & Noble Locations
Barnes & Noble opens two new stores on Wednesday, both relatively compact in size. The splashier launch is in Raleigh, NC, for the previously-announced 10,400-square-foot store in the Village District. Author Delia Owens will officially cut the ribbon to open the store and meet fans. The release praises the “leadership of manager Jen Curtis, a 22-year veteran of Barnes & Noble stores in the Carolinas” and says “the store is the first to be opened by Barnes & Noble in the Raleigh area in 18 years.” As we have observed in the past, the company continues its odd belief that […]
Obituary: Erika Seyfried
Penguin Random House vp, director, digital strategy and consumer engagement Erika Seyfried, 36, died in Vermont on Sunday. She had been staying at a vacation home with her husband near the Saxtons River and was reported missing after leaving to walk her dog. Penguin Random House said Seyfried, “Established herself as a marketing leader through the innovative digital campaigns she developed for our books. Her reader-centric approach to consumers, her social-media prowess, and her tireless nurturing of our authors earned her reverence throughout our company and our industry. With her forward-looking, inclusive approach to every team and project she led, […]
McGraw Hill to Acquire Achieve3000
McGraw Hill was the winning bidder in the sale of New Jersey-based edtech company Achieve3000. The deal is expected to close within 60 days, and it underscores support for McGraw from their new private equity owners at Platinum Equity. Terms were not disclosed, but earlier in August, sources told PE Hub that Achieve3000 had sales of about $100 million and EBITDA of $50 million, looking for a robust valuation of over $700 million. In the announcement, managing director at Platinum Equity Luke Myers, said: “We are making good on our pledge to help McGraw Hill accelerate its digital transformation, which […]
Penguin Random House Helps to Drive Record First Half Results at Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann reported results for the first half of the year on Tuesday morning, recording their highest profits in 19 years, with Penguin Random House as one of the “strongest earnings pillars” in the company. After dipping in the first half of 2020, sales of €1.803 billion were up 10.8 percent so far in 2021, gaining €176 million. Operating EBITDA was €324 million, up 55 percent from €209 million a year ago. The company said, “Revenues at Penguin Random House rose in all territories, most of all in the United States.” Breakdowns show territorial sales in the UK and Germany basically […]