Per our report on Friday, the Department of Justice published the public comments on the proposed ebook pricing settlement with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster on Monday morning, along with a 64-page summary and response. DOJ received 868 comments in all, 92 percent of which opposed the settlement, while “nearly [but not quite] seventy of those comments favored the suit and settlement.” Of those writing in favor, “several” of the submissions from 52 “readers and consumers” were similar to an online form letter. It will be no surprise that the DOJ is unpersuaded by any of the […]
Legal
Harlequin Says Authors Have Been Treated Fairly
In a brief statement responding to class-action lawsuit filed in the New York by three authors, Harlequin said it “wishes to make clear that this is the first it has heard of the proceedings and that a complaint has not yet been served.” In the brief statement, ceo Donna Hayes says: “Our authors have been recompensed fairly and properly for their work, and we will be defending ourselves vigorously.”
Three Authors File Class Action Suit Against Harlequin On Deprivation of Digital Royalties
Three romance writers filed suit in New York’s southern district court Thursday morning against Harlequin alleging the publisher deprived them of ebook royalties rightfully owed to them for works published between 1990 and 2004 by funneling contracts through a Switzerland-based subsidiary, from which the ebooks needed to be “licensed.” Agents and authors have long whispered–or even posted on blogs–about Harlequin’s historical practice of ebook accounting, and now this suit seeks class-action status with the potential to become a blockbuster action by authors against the leading romance publisher. The plaintiffs are reaching out to any authors who signed contracts with Harlequin for […]
Where’s Chuck? Schumer Says DOJ eBook Pricing Case “Empowered Monopolists and Hurt Innovators”–In An Op-Ed
New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who represents many of the estimated 50,000 or so New Yorkers employed by the publishing industry, has finally stirred himself to comment on the Department of Justice’s ebook pricing case. For now, he does so in a venue with no real consequences, penning an op-ed column in the Wall Street Journal. Schumer writes: “I am concerned that the mere filing of this lawsuit has empowered monopolists and hurt innovators. I believe it will have a deterrent effect not only on publishers but on other industries that are coming up with creative ways to grow and […]
With Over 800 Comments, Justice Plans to Post and Reply In About A Week
As a follow-up to our Monday story wondering when the Department of Justice will publish the public comments on the proposed ebook pricing settlement, along with their replies, the Antitrust Division’s Mark Ryan wrote to Judge Cote yesterday in answer to Bob Kohn’s complaint. Notably, Ryan says DOJ received over 800 comments, “as many as half” of which “arrived within a few days of or after the comment deadline.” Ryan tells the Judge the department is “working expeditiously” to publish the comments and their replies, and without giving a firm deadline indicates they intend to do so “approximately two weeks” […]
With Comments on DOJ Proposed Settlement Still Unavailable, Kohn Tells Court the Government is Violating the Tunney Act
June 25 was technically the deadline not only for public comments on the Department of Justice’s proposed settlement with Hachette, Harper, and Simon & Schuster, but also for Justice’s publication of those comments along with their replies. But as of Tuesday morning, more than two weeks after the deadline, there was no sign of any of these comments on the DOJ’s website. Even though the government now has one extra week–until August 3–to file its motion for entry of a proposed final judgment on the settlement, the opportunity for Judge Denise Cote to evaluate that voluminous number of comments shrinks […]