France’s Conseil d’Etat, the country’s highest court, ruled on Wednesday in support a law first passed in 2022 that sets a minimum delivery fee of €3 for online book orders of less than €35. The law was designed to support local brick-and-mortar stores from unfair competition from Amazon, which had been charging a delivery fee of only one euro cent on book deliveries. France has long limited book discounting, and in 2014 they banned free shipping on discounted books–leading to Amazon’s minimal charge. Last December, the EU Court of Justice had returned the matter to French courts for further evaluation, […]
International News
PRH Germany Sues OpenAI
Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe has filed suit in a Munich court against OpenAI over copyright infringement. The publisher claims that ChatGPT reproduces images and text that are recognizable and in some cases nearly identical to those within Ingo Siegner’s “The Little Dragon Coconut” book series. PRH also says that ChatGPT “proactively suggests ways to create a print-ready manuscript, including copyright-infringing cover art and blurbs, as well as specific instructions for uploading it to self-publishing platforms,” according to a release. “There is clear evidence that Ingo Siegner’s works were unlawfully used to train the AI system and are now stored in […]
Lagardere Publishing Talks Acquisition Plans
Lagardere Publishing plans to grow through international acquisitions, according to the Bookseller and Livres Hebdo, based on a press conference Hachette Livre deputy ceo Jean-Christophe Thiery gave last week. The company hopes to expand in Latin America and Africa, focusing on French, English and Spanish language markets. Thiery noted that Africa’s population is growing, and “if residents of the continent write books that appeal to them, ‘our intuition is that the book market in Africa will take off’.” “Electronic and audio versions will be used to overcome logistical constraints facing print,’ the Bookseller notes. The company doesn’t foresee acquisitions in […]
UK Bookshops Face “Disastrous” Tax Increases
Changes to the UK’s budget mean that many independent bookstores will have to pay a significantly higher business rate (a property tax) starting in April, the Bookseller reports. According to new research that has been submitted to the government as part of a consultation, more than 400 independent bookshops will see their rates go up over the next three years after a transitional period, and some stores’ taxes will be doubled. Researchers found that a store would have to sell at least 1,141 more books per year, on average, to make up for the increase. According to the Bookseller, “In […]
Editis Owner Bids to Take Over France’s Biggest Bookseller
Czech investment firm EP Group, which owns a 28.5 stake in Fnac Darty, France’s biggest bookselling chain, has made an offer to fully take over the company. EP Group is owned by Daniel Kretinsky, who also owns French publisher Editis. Fnac Darty is valued at more than €1.1 billion. EP made a cash offer for Fnac at a price of €36 per share, about 25 percent more than the the retailer’s recent average share price. Fnac’s board of directors “unanimously welcomed the offer” the announced in a release, and the retailer’s stock climbed 18 percent at the news, Reuters reports. […]
Employee Dies in Hachette UK Warehouse Accident
A Hachette UK distribution center is closed after an accident that resulted in the death of a 23-year-old employee, the Bookseller reports. According to police, there was an “industrial accident” at the Oxfordshire warehouse on Tuesday morning. A 21-year-old man was arrested “on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter” and is now out on bail. “[On Tuesday], there was a tragic incident at Hachette UK Distribution’s warehouse that heartbreakingly led to the loss of a much-loved colleague,” a Hachette UK spokesperson said. “Our deepest condolences are with their family and friends, who are in our thoughts at this devastating time. The […]