Bestselling author Bill Bryson filed suit November 30 in New York Supreme Court against his former literary agent, Fred Morris of Jed Mattes Inc., alleging “misconduct and profound neglect” over a period of years, and charging that Morris “failed to perform some of the most fundamental duties of an agent” including royalty remittance and processing contracts for review and signature. The suit also claims the defendant “insisted that JMI is entitled to continue collecting a commission of fifteen percent of Bryson’s earnings on the very works Morris has neglected” and seeks to sever once and for all any connection between […]
Legal
HBG Moves to Agency Lite with Amazon and Others
Hachette Book Group has reached a new overall sales agreement with Amazon. As part of that agreement, HBG now moves to selling ebooks on an “agency lite” basis with the US trade’s leading retailer. Amazon no longer lists HBG ebook prices as having been set by the publisher, but does still list the titles themselves as “sold by Hachette Book Group.” (These are the technical details that confirm HBG is no longer controlling the consumer price, as required under the DOJ settlement, but continues an agency selling relationship as the seller of record.) As was the case when HarperCollins moved […]
Tolkien Estate and Harper Sue Filmmakers for Overstepping Merchandising Agreements
In a lawsuit reminiscent of some publishing disputes over contracts from decades ago, on Monday the Tolkien Estate and HarperCollins have sued Warner Bros., New Line and the Saul Zaentz Company for allegedly overreaching in their licensing of merchandising rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The suit argues that the original grant of merchandising rights in 1969 (as further amended in 1975 and again in 1981) covered only “all articles of tangible personal property”–and thus “did not include any grant of exploitations such as electronic or digital rights.” They allege that the filmmakers have “with increasing […]
Tyndale House Gets Injunction to Avoid Providing Employees Certain Types of Contraception
Christian publisher Tyndale House is right in the middle of the controversy over the application of new health care requirements to organizations with religious beliefs at their core. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton has issued a preliminary injunction in the publisher’s favor, exempting Tyndale House for now from providing contraceptive coverage to employees as mandated by the new health care law. Judge Walton wrote in his order, “The contraceptive coverage mandate affirmatively compels the plaintiffs to violate their religious beliefs in order to comply with the law and avoid the sanctions that would be imposed for their noncompliance.” Tyndale says […]
Army Officer Is Cleared to Sue for Right to Publish Unredacted Version of His Book
One of the stranger cases of government censorship is back in the news, as Army Reserve Lt. Colonel Anthony Shaffer has been granted standing to sue the Defense Intelligence Agency in an effort to publish an unredacted version of his 2010 book OPERATION DARK HEART. The judge correctly recognized that Shaffer did not sell all of his rights to his publisher (as the government argued), he licensed a limited basket of rights: “Mr. Shaffer wrote and wants to publish his complete book as originally approved by the Army. There is no doubt that the Defendant Agencies are preventing him from […]
eNews: Kobo Opens in South Africa; Brazil’s Saraiva Looks to Sell Online Division; “Patent Troll” Moves to Amazon and BN with New Suit
Kobo has partnered with South African retailer Pick n Pay to launch their devices and ebookstore there, offering books in both English and Afrikaans. There’s further news on Brazil’s leading bookseller Saraiva, whose stock jumped earlier in the month on reports that they might be in acquisition talks with Amazon. The updated Reuters account says Saraiva is looking to sell their online business only, while retaining their 102 bookstores and publishing operation. That goal would seem to fit quite well with Amazon’s continuing aspirations to launch operations, and Kindle in particular, in Brazil–though it could also appeal to other international […]