eNews

Disney Publishing has launched a subscription-based web site that will present a broad catalog starting with about 500 electronic children’s books for readers ages 3 to 13. DisneyDigitalBooks.com is priced at $8.95 per month (or $79.95 annually), and offers a few free books for trial with registration. Disney Publishing president Russell Hampton tells the NYT, “We want to make reading an even bigger deal in a kid’s life, and if we can do that in a new and interactive way — great.” The paper says “a huge marketing effort will set about drilling the site into the public consciousness,” including […]

Sony has launched a Publisher Portal making their Reader eBook Store available to those who publish through ebook site Smashwords and self-publisher Author Solutions. Sony Portal

The judge has agreed to the request to not hold a full hearing on the proposed settlement on October 7 “as it does not appear that the current settlement will be the operative one.” But he doesn’t want to wait another month to learn the status of negotiations, as the Authors Guild and AAP had asked. At the October conference he wants “to determine how to proceed with the case as expeditiously as possible, as this case has now been pending for over four years.” While Chin will not hear from any other petitioners at the hearing, “they are free […]

IRex is providing additional details about their marketing of their new digital reader in the US this fall–which will be sold through Best Buy, where the NYT reports that the chain “is training thousands of its employees in how to talk about and demonstrate devices like the Sony Reader and iRex, and adding a new area to its 1,048 stores to showcase the devices.” Up until now, the retailer has sold ereaders online and only “in limited tests in stores.” Best Buy scp for entertainment says “we feel that this is a technology that is beginning to emerge and that […]

Authors Guild and the AAP, with no opposition from Google, have asked Judge Denny Chin to postpone the hearing scheduled for October 7 “so that the parties can (a) amend the Settlement Agreement and (b) seek approval of an amended settlement agreement.” They have asked the Judge for a “status conference” on November 6 instead, to “discuss the parties’ progress.” They confirm what was indicated in the Justice Department’s filing last Friday, saying “it is because the parties wish to work with the DOJ to the fullest extent possible…in negotiations in an effort to address and resolve the concerns expressed” […]

Last Friday night, the Department of Justice filed a brief with Judge Chin in the Google Books case that provided both critics and proponents of the settlement with reasons to be happy. Justice asked the court to “reject the proposed settlement in its current form and encourage the parties to continue negotiations to modify it so as to comply with Rule 23 and the copyright and antitrust laws.” At the same time, the department noted repeatedly its understanding, as reported recently, that the parties “are continuing to consider possible modifications to address the many concerns raised by various commenters and […]