Among many actual (and potential) objectors to the Google Book Search settlement, the Internet Archive has requested a pre-motion conference with the judge to get permission to intervene in the case. Their letter hits on one of the most contentious issues raised by the settlement, that it essentially gives Google a uniquely-protected monopoly over unclaimed orphan works of uncertain copyright status: “it effectively limits the liability for the identified uses of orphan works of one party alone, Google.” As they note later, anyone else “would not be able to use orphan works broadly without being exposed to claims of infringement…and […]
eNews
Bloomsbury UK to Offer Their Own Online Library
While much of the industry is transfixed by the looming court decision on the Google Book Search settlement (and the complexities thereof), Bloomsbury UK is moving forward with a electronic lending library of its own. Working with Exact Editions and launching on May 5, the Bloomsbury Library Online will “allow readers to read collections of bestselling books at local library terminals or with the use of a library card on home computers and internet enabled devices.” The publisher is selling the service as an annual subscription to libraries, priced according to the “size of population served.” Bloomsbury Executive Director Richard […]
People and Announcements: Harriot, Howard Books, Pimsleur, Publishing Technology and B&T Digital
Michael Harriot has joined Sanford J. Greenburger Associates as an agent. He was at Vigliano Associates for the past nine years, representing his own clients as well as co-agenting deals with David Vigliano. At Simon & Schuster Children’s Sy Sumg has joined the subsidiary rights group as assistant manager. Simon & Schuster’s Howard Books will relocate from W. Monroe, Louisiana to Nashville, TN, the “epicenter of Christian publishing,” on May 1. The relaunch of the web site for S&S’s Pimsleur audio offers free half-hour lessons and a test of other “digital premiums.” The unit is also adding instruction in Dari […]
BookTour Raises Money; Backers Include Amazon
BookTour.com, which has been privately funded by founder Chris Anderson, has raised $350,000 in Series A funding. According to the regulatory filing, backers include Amazon.com.
Curious Monkey Teaches Little Kids to Play with Parents' iPods, and More eNews
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has teamed with ScrollMotion to launch a $9.99 CURIOUS GEORGE’S DICTIONARY app. For pre-schoolers and first graders who get their hands on a parent’s iPhone/iPod Touch, it provides a multimedia teaching experience that “concentrates on essential educational development material, including the alphabet, shapes, numbers, colors and the concept of opposites, such as big/small and tall/short, all through the antics of the classic character Curious George.” In other e-news culled via the Automat: * St. Martin’s Read-It-First is a little bit like a house version of DailyLit: they send shorts excerpts of new and forthcoming books by e-mail, […]
Another eBook Lawsuit–This Time Against Apple
Apple has been sued in a Virginia-based Federal Court for patent infringement over ebook uses of the iPhone and iPod Touch by Swiss company Monec Holding. The company says it has a 2002 patent titled “Electronic device, preferably an electronic book” that covers “a general electronic device with a housing, display, input means, microprocessors, controls and interfaces for data exchange with peripherals” and a “preferably provided” touchscreeen that “has dimensions such that with it approximately one page of a book can be illustrated at normal size.” The filing says that “Apple makes books and book applications accessible through Wi-Fi and […]