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 in Australia”; and second, that it will “further reduce the already limited number of major publishers with whom higher education authors can publish their works.” Interested parties have until January 20 to submit comments and information, with a final decision due from the commission March […]
DOJ
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 week.” In the letter, sent on Wednesday, Audible attorney Emily Reisbaum reports, “Audible has made a proposal to plaintiffs concerning a potential final resolution of the lawsuit,” adding that “Audible believes this proposal moots the lawsuit.” She says “publishers are considering the proposal but have […]
Former Intelligence Agency Employees Sue Over Prepublication Review
Five former employees of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Defense, have sued their former employers to contest the government’s prepublication approval requirements. Former intelligence employees are required to submit manuscripts for review and obtain government approval before they can publish, which the plaintiffs call an “unconstitutional censorship regime” that “cannot be squared with the First Amendment,” according to the complaint, filed in Federal District Court in Maryland. The suit declares itself “a challenge to a far-reaching system of prior restraints that suppresses a broad swath of constitutionally protected speech, […]
PEN America and the Authors Guild Stand Against Quad/LSC Merger
Monopoly watchdog group the Open Markets Institute has filed a brief, signed jointly by PEN America and the Authors Guild, encouraging the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division “to block the merger between the two sole competitors in the long-run magazine and book printing markets,” Quad and LSC Communications. In October, Quad (formerly Quad Graphics) announced a deal to acquire LSC, and in February secured the credit to finance the $1.4 billion deal. The deal requires regulatory approval and is currently under review. Open Market’s March 6 letter argues that Quad and LSC represent the only two options for the printing […]
The Last Gasp: Apple Agrees To Settle Shareholder eBook Complaint
The long-running saga of the Department of Justice vs. Apple over antitrust issues with ebook pricing had one last gasp. Two years after Apple paid out more than $450 million in settlement credits in the original case (which was settled two years prior, in 2014), the company has settled a subsequent derivative shareholder complaint, originally lodged one month after the 2014 settlement was finalized. That agreement primarily requires Apple to continue a variety of antitrust training and compliance processes that the company had initially (and unsuccessfully) resisted from the government. Apple will comply with an antitrust monitor through 2022; modify […]
Harper Canada Finally Settles eBook Pricing Case
HarperCollins has reached a consent agreement with Canada’s Competition Bureau related to the introduction of agency ebook pricing there, a year after the other parties had settled. Hachette, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster and Apple all entered into consent agreements in January 2017, but Harper had resisted. They said, in part, “HarperCollins Canada is confident in its position that there is no violation of Canadian competition law and will vigorously defend itself against the allegations made by the Commissioner.” As a result, the Bureau asked the Competition Tribunal for harsher restrictions on Harper Canada. In a statement, the CCB says that “the […]