Judge Denise Cote acknowledged Bob Kohn’s requests to appeal and stay her judgment in the ebook pricing settlement in a brief notice issued Monday. The motion to stay was denied. Anticipating that, as we reported yesterday Kohn had already gone to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals with his request. Though Kohn was initially trying to forestall the first stage of the settlement’s decree–voiding Apple’s ebook contracts within a week–Judge Cote has set deadlines for next week on his motion to appeal, at which point the entire contractual landscape for the Settlers may have changed. Opposition to Kohn’s motion is […]
Legal
Kohn Goes Directly to Appeals Court With Emergency Request For A Stay of eBook Settlement
With no response yet from District Court Judge Denise Cote to his Friday motions seeking permission to both stay and appeal the ebook settlement, entrepreneur and attorney Bob Kohn filed an emergency request with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday morning. He asked the Appeals Court “to consider and rule upon” his motion for a stay by this Friday. Reasserting many of the arguments made last week to Judge Cote, Kohn posits that “without a stay of execution of the final judgment, an appeal becomes moot and the consequent harm to the public becomes irreparable.” To meet the […]
Harper Starts Selling Under New eBook Contracts, Often At Higher List Prices
At least some new pricing for ebooks started Monday, in advance of any indication from the courts whether an appeal might stay formal imposition of the settlement with the Department of Justice. As spokesperson Erin Crum told Publishers Lunch Monday afternoon, “HarperCollins has reached agreements with our e-retailers that are consistent with the final judgment.” One reason to initiate new contracts as soon as possible is to get the process over with; each publisher must wait two years after execution of new contracts, whenever that occurs, before being able to return to unimpeded agency. The results of those new agreements–including […]
Also Now On Appeal: The Georgia State Fair Use Ruling
Also in court, on Tuesday afternoon the publisher plaintiffs filed to appeal the ruling in the Georgia State University copyright case. In a joint statement, the publishers said the court’s recent rulings “shift radically from long-accepted fair use principles and introduce, among other errors, unsustainable policies regarding the proportion of a work not readily available for digital licensing that can be digitally copied without restriction. We have no alternative but to appeal, to protect our authors’ copyrights and advocate for a balanced and workable solution.” The AAP reiterated their position that “there is no legal basis for according less copyright […]
The Agency Lawsuit Index
This is a partial-index only of Publishers Lunch reports within the “Agency Lawsuits” section. It focuses on guiding readers to key original documents in the four different legal actions (the Federal lawsuit; the state lawsuit; the class-action lawsuit; and the EU investigation). In each sub-section, links are listed starting with the most recent postings. If you page back manually through the “Agency Lawsuits” section you will find many additional articles as well. Legal Filings: Department of Justice Lawsuits Macmillan’s answer Penguin’s answer Apple’s answer DOJ’s complaint DOJ’s competitive impact statement DOJ’s proposed settlement agreement with Harper, HBG and S&S DOJ […]
Hurry Up, Wait, and What The…!? Life Under Agency Lite
With Judge Denise Cote approving the settlement between the Department of Justice and HBG, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster more swiftly than most people expected, the industry moves into the what-happens-next phase. The answer, depending upon your view, is either just complicated, or a big fat mess. The biggest immediate pressure is the need for the Settlers to have new contracts in place with Apple in as little as week. And the biggest wildcard is what, if anything, happens with appeals. Here is our guide (which we reserve the right to modify at any time). The Legal Parts: Another Delay? […]