Judge Colleen McMahon sentenced Filippo Bernardini to time served on Thursday, following his guilty plea to one count of wire fraud related to his years of stealing pre-publication manuscripts. Bernardini had already agreed to pay restitution of $88,000 to Penguin Random House, to be paid in monthly installments given his limited means. His sentence includes 3 years of supervised release, though he is also ordered to be deported to the UK or Italy. The charge carried a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison. Assistant US Attorney Daniel G. Nessim had written that, “A sentence of at least one […]
Pearson Sells Money-Losing Online Learning Business for Future Consideration
Pearson announced an agreement to sell their international online program management business, Pearson Online Learning Services (POLS), to private equity firm Regent. There is no cash payment; Pearson will receive a portion of the business’s positive adjusted EBITDA over the next six years. The business, which had been pending sale under “strategic review,” lost £26 million pounds ($32 million) on an adjusted operating basis in 2022, on sales of £155 million. (Overall, the business lost £52 million, including restructuring, intangible and finance charges.)
A Skeptical Judge Presses Internet Archive to Cite Cases That Support Their Copying
Judge John Koeltl held a lengthy hearing Monday afternoon on motions for summary judgment from both sides in the copyright infringement lawsuit brought by four major publishers against the Internet Archive for “willful mass copyright infringement.” With extensive papers already filed with the court since the case was filed in June 2020, it seemed likely that the hearing held by telephone will be all the judge requires in order to reach a final ruling on the case. The plaintiffs’ case is pretty straight-forward and aligns with how the copyright laws are written and have been interpreted across many cases, in […]
Real Book Sales Data, Now with A New Name
Following NPD’s merger with IRi last year, the combined companies have renamed themselves Circana, so you will see the Bookscan family of data products referred to as Circana Books or Circana Bookscan from now on. They report that last week print book sales were up 580,000 units compared to the same week in 2022, after six weeks of running a little below last year, now running 1 percent below 2022 on a year-to-date basis. As we reminded writers through our new monthly Authors Lunch last week — to significant interest — PM drives access to Bookscan’s real sales data for […]
Government Underscores that Copyright Is for Human-Created Works, and AI-Generated Material Is Not Protectable
After finding last month that AI-generated artwork in a graphic novel did not qualify for copyright protection, the US Copyright Office has now published a more extensive paper, “Copyright Registration Guidance: Works Containing Material Generated by Artificial Intelligence.” The key point is their reiteration of the view that, “It is well-established that copyright can protect only material that is the product of human creativity.” Therefore, anyone applying for a copyright has “a duty to disclose the inclusion of AI-generated content in a work submitted for registration and to provide a brief explanation of the human author’s contributions to the work.” […]
McNally Jackson Moving Down the Street
McNally Jackson announced that their original store at 52 Prince Street in Manhattan will close on March 21 after 19 years there. They are moving a few blocks west, to 134 Prince Street: “Our new store is larger and sturdier, but we have loved our old store for a long time.”