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Legal: Elsevier Prevails Over Sci-Hub; Textbook Publishers Sue Follett for "Trafficking In Counterfeit Textbooks"

by on June 23, 2017 in Legal

On Tuesday, a Federal court for the Southern District of New York entered a default judgment in favor of Elsevier in their infringement suit against Sci-Hub, the Library Genesis Project, and other websites, accused of "compromising some 51 million protected works." The court award the maximum damages of $15 million, and made…

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Consumer Deadline -- and A Pot of Leftover Money -- Looms At Expiration of Apple Settlement Credits

by on June 21, 2017 in DOJ, Legal

The big Apple-funded pool of up to $400 million in consumer credits as a result of the ebook settlement agreement with the consumer class and state attorneys general began distribution about a year ago -- which means that any unused or unclaimed credits will expire at the end of the…

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The Kenyon-Clare Legal Dispute Continues, with Trial Date for 2018

by on June 21, 2017 in Authors, Legal

The Bookseller has an update on the long-running legal dispute between Sherrilyn Kenyon and Cassandra Clare, first filed by Kenyon in early 2016, though it seems to come from Clare's attorney Jon Cahill. What Cahill focuses on is their motion filed Tuesday, pressing Kenyon to produce "evidence of her claims."…

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Harper and Kipnis Oppose Pseudonymous Lawsuit

by on June 20, 2017 in Legal

Attorneys representing HarperCollins and author Laura Kipnis filed their first response to the Jane Doe lawsuit over the publication of Unwanted Advances, alleging public disclosure of private facts that "were not of legitimate public concern," false light invasion of privacy, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The defendants responded…

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Textbook Author Sues Pearson

by on June 19, 2017 in Education, Legal

Last week professor of engineering at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette and author of multiple engineering textbooks Russell Hibbeler filed suit in a Tennessee Federal Court against Pearson, alleging significant underpaid and/or unpaid royalties and charging the publisher with creating derivative works with permission and payment. (Hibbeler lives in…

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Bookselling: New Stores, Financial and Legal Updates

by on June 15, 2017 in Bookstores, International News, Legal

After closing last fall, Guide to Kulchur will reopen in Cleveland, OH this month as a bookstore with a "black box space" next door. Founder RA Washington told Cleveland Scene that, with the support of local foundation, he hopes to make the new enterprise a non-profit organization. In addition to bookselling,…

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Northwestern Student Sues Harper and Author Kipnis Over Unwanted Advances Book

by on May 17, 2017 in Legal

A Northwestern University graduate student filed a Jane Doe lawsuit in an Illinois Federal Court on Monday against author Laura Kipnis and publisher HarperCollins over the publication of Unwanted Advances. The suit alleges counts of public disclosure of private facts that "were not of legitimate public concern," false light invasion…

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EU Formalizes Amazon eBook Antitrust Agreement

by on May 4, 2017 in International News, Legal

The European Commission formally adopted "commitments" from Amazon to avoid legal charges and potential fines for violating antitrust law with their ebook contracts. Hewing closely to the proposed settlement announced in late January, with some slight modifications, Amazon agrees to drop a broad range of restrictive most-favored-nations clauses in their…

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California Consumer Sues Audible Over Subscription Terms

by on March 14, 2017 in Audio, Legal

A California consumer filed suit in the state's Central District Federal Court against Audible and Amazon, seeking class action status, on behalf of "consumers who find themselves trapped in a shell game." The suit objects to differences between how Audible allegedly advertises its membership program, and how the program works in fact.…

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Legal: European Court Disallows Lower Tax for eBooks, Harper Responds In Canada

by on March 7, 2017 in DOJ, International News, Legal

Responding to a query brought by the Polish Constitutional Court, the European Court of Justice has ruled that member states may not apply a lower value added tax to downloadable ebooks or other publications -- even though lower taxes are allowed for books and other publications that are printed (and in turn,…

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