The Authors Guild, the Open Markets Institute, and a number of writers associations have co-signed a letter urging the Department of Justice to reject the plan to merge Simon & Schuster into Penguin Random House. “The deal would bring well more than half of key U.S. book markets under the control of a single corporation,…
DOJ
Bolton Permitted Discovery to Show Government Acted Unfairly
Former national security John Bolton can go forward with discovery to fight the government lawsuit claiming he violated nondisclosure agreements by publishing The Room Where It Happened. US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth denied the government’s motion for summary judgment, arguing that Bolton should be allowed to gather testimony and documents to prove his claim…
Hagens Berman Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Amazon Over eBook Monopoly
Following news of a longstanding investigation of Amazon’s control over the ebook market by the Connecticut Attorney General, class action law firm Hagens Berman sued Amazon in the US District Court of New York’s Southern District. They allege antitrust violations of the Sherman Act. The filing is both fascinating and bizarre, a kind of deja…
Judge Rules Government’s Case Against Bolton Will Go Forward
John Bolton’s motion to dismiss the DOJ lawsuit seeking proceeds of his book The Room Where It Happened failed Thursday, with US District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth finding that the government’s position that Bolton breached prepublication review was sufficiently supported by facts. At stake are his $2 million advance and royalties from the bestselling…
Australian Antitrust Commission Has Some Concerns About Cengage McGraw-Hill Merger
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a 17-page statement of issues regarding the planned merger of Cengage and McGraw-Hill, the result of a review begun in September. The report outlines two primary “preliminary concerns”: First, that the merger will result in “higher prices, reduced quality or a more limited product range for students…
Audible Makes Publishers an Offer on Captions, and More Legal Updates
Judge Valerie Caproni has been in no hurry to rule on publishers’ request for a temporary injunction blocking the release of Audible Captions, waiting for the parties to try and work out a business arrangement — and now Audible’s lawyer counsel has asked the court to “suspend its consideration of the pending motions for a…