Apple reported second quarter earnings after the close of the market on Tuesday, reporting sales of 11.8 million iPads for the period (compared to 4.7 million iPads in the same quarter a year ago). As ceo Tim Cook noted, in two years they have sold 67 million iPads worldwide (“and to put that in some context, it took us 24 years to sell that many Macs and 5 years for that many iPods and over 3 years for that many iPhones.”) The company says they saw “very strong growth in iPad sales around the world with sales more than doubling […]
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Digital News: More Languages for Potter; Harris Turns Packager; and More
As promised, Pottermore has placed on sale French, Italian, Spanish and German editions of the Harry Potter ebooks. Former book-to-film agent Nick Harris, who left ICM recently, is starting a new company with funding from his brother-in-law Jason Traub. In the vein of Alloy Entertainment and Full Fathom Five, The Story Foundation will create books in the packager model–saying they will split proceeds 50/50 “most of the time” with authors–and aims to develop those books as film/TV projects and for “other multi-platform opportunities.” Harris tells Deadline he is already worked on five projects, based on his own ideas. “After parting […]
Questions and Comments Continue on the Agency Pricing Settlement and Suits
The WSJ makes a significant discovery in the e-book pricing dispute today–they have unearthed a rare photo of Macmillan ceo John Sargent wearing a necktie, along with a three-piece formal suit. (The Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan picture apparently comes from the Graham Windham Bicentennial Ball in 2006.) Perhaps too late to be of any use to his publishing constituents, the Journal also has New York Senator Chuck Schumer saying, “I feel absolutely befuddled by the lawsuit. For the Antitrust Division to step in as the big protector of Amazon doesn’t seem to make any sense from an antitrust point of view. […]
Wiley Amends Piracy Lawsuits, Naming Four Defendants Who Allegedly Downloaded ‘For Dummies’ Titles Illegally
In Wiley’s aggressive legal campaign against individuals they allege shared copies of various “For Dummies” books in violation of their copyright via BitTorrent, the company recently named a few of the previously anonymous defendants and asked for a jury trial. TorrentFreak observes that “if one or more of the three cases indeed proceeds to a full trial it will be the first time that actual evidence against BitTorrent infringers is tested in court.” Wiley attorney William Dunnegan tells the BBC: “We are asking people who are identified by their ISPs as being copyright infringers to pay the minimum amount due […]
Book Sales Down 8 Percent at WH Smith, with 100 Kobo In-Store Shops Coming This Year
Book sales continue to decline at UK chain WH Smith, down 8 percent on a same-store-sales basis for the six months ending February 29. On their Kobo relationship, the company says “initial performance is encouraging and we plan to further develop the offer throughout this year,” without indicating any figures. High street store sales of 448 million pounds were down over 5 percent overall (by 25 million pounds) and 6 percent on a comp-store basis, but groupwide profit rose 3 million pounds. In a parallel announcement, Kobo explained that they will open 100 in-store boutiques within WH Smith high street […]
Judge Sets Hearing on DOJ Settlements for July 27 as Hachette and Harper Near Settlement With 50 States
At a status conference Wednesday afternoon in New York District Court, Judge Denise Cote heard from lawyers representing Apple, contesting publishers Penguin and Macmillan, and the three publishers – Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins — that settled with the Department of Justice and are working towards a similar outcome with as many as all 50 states. Hachette and Harper confirmed they signed a memorandum of understanding with 16 states and Puerto Rico, Bloomberg reported, and “they hope to have a settlement with all 50 states completed by June 11,” exactly 60 days from when both the DOJ and state […]