After what turned out to be a brief hiccup, Amazon has now reinstated access to its API access for ebook lending service Lendle. The problem turned out to be Lendle’s BookSync feature, which syncs a user’s Kindle books with their Lendle account and which Amazon said violated its terms of service. Lendle has now disabled what it termed a “very useful, but non-essential feature” and added “we need to work towards a Lendle product that does not rely on APIs provided by Amazon or any other third party.” Lendle statement Interactive textbook company Inkling secured “significant minority investment” from […]
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Finally, Judge Chin Decides: The Google Book Settlement Is Rejected
Nearly a year after Judge Denny Chin was confirmed to the 2nd Circuit Appeals Court, and more than 13 months after his hearing on the Google Book Settlement, he finally ruled. the settlement “is not fair, adequate or reasonable” and is rejected. While Judge Chin outlines a number of concerns, he notes one fundamental change that could make it acceptable: change it from opt-out to opt-in, and Chin says, “I urge the parties to consider revising the ASA accordingly.” Of course that would literally change everything, not only removing the settlement’s attempt to provide a legal and business-driven solution to identifying […]
As the Publishing World Turns: Amanda Hocking Close to Seven-Figure Book Deal
On the same day Barry Eisler turned down half a million dollars from Minotaur Books to self-publish, news emerged publicly that Amanda Hocking appears to be doing the exact opposite. Yesterday afternoon the NYT finally caught wind of what many in the industry have known about for weeks now, which is that agent Steve Axelrod is shopping a new four-book series to publishers, attracting bids “of well over $1 million for world English rights,” according to two unnamed publishing executives who spoke with the paper, and that the auction may be complete by today. Sources in turn tell us that Penguin […]
More eNews: Amazon Appstore is Live as They Put Kibosh on Lendle
The aforementioned Android Appstore that has Apple launching legal action against Amazon is now live. What’s being touted is the exclusive Android edition of Angry Birds Rio, but the books and comics section also features a variety of free and paid apps from Oceanhouse Media and WattPad. Appstore Ebook lending library company Lendle found itself in Amazon’s crosshairs yesterday, as the service, built on top of Amazon’s Kindle lending feature, was shut down on the grounds that it did not “serve the principal purpose of driving sales of products and services on the Amazon site.” So far the shutdown appears […]
Infringe This: Apple Sues Amazon Over “Appstore” Name, While Microsoft Upset at B&N Over Nook OS Invented By Some Other Company
Yesterday provided an almost embarrassing wealth of stories highlighting how sensitive technology companies can be about supposed infringement – especially when what’s vexing them the most involves another company not involved in legal action at all. For Apple, the very fact that Amazon named its Android app store, well, “Appstore,” caused enough conniptions for them to file a complaint last Friday in Northern California Federal Court, Bloomberg reports. “Amazon has begun improperly using Apple’s App Store mark in connection with Amazon’s mobile-software developer program,” Apple said in the complaint. They trademarked the term “app store” in July 2008, a move […]
Thriller Writer Barry Eisler Walks Away From Lucrative Print Deal to E-Publish Next John Rain Novel
Two months after thriller writer Barry Eisler moved houses to St. Martin’s Press crime imprint Minotaur Books for his next John Rain novel, The Detachment, he reveals in a lengthy online conversation with his friend and fellow writer Joe Konrath that the deal is off. Instead, Eisler will publish the book on his own around mid-June, far sooner than the Spring 2012 publication date scheduled by Minotaur. “I know it’ll seem crazy to a lot of people,” Eisler states, “but based on what’s happening in the industry, and based on the kind of experience writers…are having in self-publishing, I think […]