“My name is Stephen King; I’m a freelance writer.” So began what is likely to be the most entertaining testimony of the A3 trial, even if it seems unlikely to have great bearing on the case. (Though Judge Pan was clearly as charmed as everyone else to have the renowned author on the stand. When he was dismissed, smiling, broadly, she said, “It was a real pleasure to hear your testimony.”) King noted he was testifying voluntarily, because, “I think that consolidation is bad for competition; that’s my understanding of the book business.” As he recalled, “When I started there […]
It’s Actually Day One: Pietsch Testimony and Opening Arguments
The A3 antitrust trial went quickly from the excitement of the long-anticipated event — with cameras set up outside awaiting the non-arrival of Stephen King, due Tuesday, and long security lines for the many visitors — to the slow tedium of an actual trial, establishing a foundation with witnesses and trying to provide a crash course in the basics of book publishing. The good news for both sides — and all sides — is that Judge Florence Pan clearly lives up to her reputation as a rising star heading for the Court of Appeals. Throughout the day, she showed clear […]
A3 Trial: Revised Confidentiality Procedures
As the antitrust trial begins today, the parties jointly filed a proposed revised order for the handling of confidential material, and the anonymizing of certain names. For those who might be affected, the proposal is viewable here.
Vivendi Is Ready to Spin-off Editis to Win Approval for Lagardere Acquisition
While reporting earnings on Thursday, Vivendi disclosed that it is prepared to spin off the Editis publishing group into its own separate, publicly-traded company in order to win approval from EU and French regulators to acquire Lagardere as a whole. The company said, “To avoid any potential antitrust problems due to its combination with Lagardère Group, Vivendi will study the proposed divestment of 100% of its subsidiary Editis mainly through a distribution and stock market listing.” But quotes from company executives make it clear they are well past a study. “We knew that there would be some (competition) hurdles,” Vivendi’s […]
In Case…
Two modest open calls: 1. We’re looking at new experiment that involves AI/machine audio narration. If you have any experience or recommendations here, please let us know! 2. If anyone wants to suggests a neutral Washington, DC watering hole for people to find each other after court hours next week, we’re open to suggestions.
Slightly Unredacted
The parties in the A3 trial have been revising and resubmitting some of their key documents to more lightly redact data and citations. We already swapped in Penguin Random House’s newer version of their pre-trial brief on Monday, and now that post also includes a posted PDF of the Department of Justice’s revised brief as well (submitted to the court yesterday). Among the details now visible: When bidding for Simon & Schuster, Bertelsmann ceo Thomas Rabe expressed that the company faced “a disadvantage in the auction due to antitrust risks, which are likely to be greater in our case than […]