Publisher plaintiffs (and AAP members) Pearson, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Wiley and McGraw-Hill have agreed to settle their seven-year legal battle with Google over the search giant’s library scanning project. “The settlement acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright-holders. US publishers can choose to make available or choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project. Those deciding not to remove their works will have the option to receive a digital copy for their use.” The agreement broadly “covers US publishers who can be identified as belonging to one of several publisher associations,” AAP head […]
Legal
Judge Cote Denies Kohn’s Motion to Intervene–Which He Appeals
In a ten-page opinion issued Tuesday afternoon, Judge Cote denied Bob Kohn’s motion to intervene with respect to the ebook lawsuit settlement, concluding that he has no standing and saying that his public comments and the granting of his amicus motion should suffice. According to Judge Cote, Kohn failed to demonstrate he had standing to intervene because he did “not suggest that his individual rights will be impaired in any way if he is not permitted to intervene.” While Kohn may wish to assist the defense in fighting Justice’s lawsuit, he did not argue “that he — and the ‘millions’ […]
Penguin Reiterates Position On MacAdam/Cage Suit
In a separate statement, Penguin told us Friday they will proceed with their lawsuit against MacAdam/Cage over the ebook license to Susan Vreeland’s GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE even though the smaller publisher has announced plans to seek a buyer. Penguin indicates they notified MacAdam/Cage publisher David Poindexter “several times” about Vreeland’s claim and the settlement negotiations, but that “he remained silent.” Penguin says their suit is “seeking only the money it paid out of pocket to Susan Vreeland. Ms. Vreeland was able to show that she, not MacAdam/Cage, owned the ebook rights that MacAdam/Cage purported to grant Penguin, and that […]
Penguin Explains Author Lawsuits
On Friday afternoon, Penguin issued to us a statement regarding the reported dozen separate lawsuits seeking to recover advances paid to authors the publishers says did not submit manuscripts: “Penguin invests in, nurtures and develops authors who write books that we publish and bring to readers. It devalues the hard work of the vast majority of our authors, and is unfair to our readers, if a few individuals can keep tens of thousands of dollars in advances without ever delivering anything to the publisher. For this reason, Penguin is asking these authors to repay the money they received for work […]
Poindexter Says Penguin Suit Was “The Last Straw” In Deciding to Sell MacAdam/Cage
We expected that there were some dots to be connected between Penguin’s suit against MacAdam/Cage over the ebook publication of Susan Vreeland’s Girl With Hyacinth Blue, and MacAdam/Cage founder and owner David Poindexter has now confirmed that in a reply to our queries. Poindexter was in contact with Penguin’s attorney last week regarding the suit, filed June 20, and was told “they do intend to proceed with the suit.” Poindexter says by e-mail, “This was the last straw that made me decide to sell. There are many, many good people in publishing, but I have had my fill of the […]
People, Etc.
At ICM Partners, Kristyn Keene and Kari Stuart have both been promoted to agent. Keene joined the agency in 2006; Stuart has been with ICM for seven years. Alistair Burtenshaw, who left his positions at Reed Exhibitions earlier this month, will move up to chair of charity Booktrust (where he has served as deputy chair since 2008). The Smoking Gun highlights multiple lawsuits filed recently by Penguin to recover advances from authors who the publisher says never delivered their manuscripts. The suits look to recover advances and interest from: New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead $20,000, for a 2003 deal […]