CCA and B, LLC, which publishes the holiday book ELF ON THE SHELF, appear to be unamused at the prospect of a parody due for publication on October 18 by Adams Media, so much so they are suing the company – as well as editor Brendan O’Neill, publicist Beth Gissinger, designer Jessica Faria, and parent company F+W Media – in Georgia District Court. According to the 19-count complaint filed on June 24, Adams’ ELF OFF THE SHELF: A Christmas Tradition Gone Bad, infringes on CCA and B’s trademarks, copyright, and domain name, and they seek both a jury trial and […]
Legal
Borders Gets Court Approval On Auctions for Intellectual Property and Real Estate Leases
Borders received approval from federal bankruptcy court Wednesday to auction its name (as well as the brand names of once-operational subsidiaries Waldenbooks and Brentano’s), trademarks, website, and email lists on September 14, Reuters reported. Borders has enlisted Streambank to manage the sale of Borders’ intellectual property assets, with the firm’s principal David Peress noting in a statement that in addition to its marks and e-commerce assets, “Borders is the holder of a contiguous block of IPv4 addresses which it seeks to transfer to a qualified buyer.” A stalking horse bidder for the IP assets will be named in advance of […]
An Unblurred Photo Pits Random House Against the CIA
In 2005, Random House Inc. imprint Presidio Press published onetime CIA agent Gary Schroen’s First In: An Insider’s Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan to some fanfare and minimal controversy. For four years, and for three different editions, that’s how things remained. Then the mass market edition unblurred a photo of covert CIA agent John Peppe, who was involved in one of the agency’s Afghanistan missions, that was originally blurred in the hardcover, ebook and trade paper editions. That one change by the publisher set off an odyssey of lawsuits, accusations of invasion of […]
Corporate News: Macmillan Fined on Africa Contracts Fraud; Nebraska Book Company Bankruptcy Approved
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office fined Macmillan $18.3 million over illegal payments made by its education division to secure contracts in East and West Africa between 2002 and 2009. Macmillan said a report had identified “concerns over receipts from certain contracts” by its Education unit in Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. The company settled with the World Bank last year over a similar situation in Southern Sudan. “We will not tolerate any form of potentially unlawful behavior,” Macmillan ceo Annette Thomas said in a statement. “Fortunately, it has been established that these issues were confined to a limited part of our […]
Court Approves Borders Liquidation Sales As BAMM Offer Details Get Worked Out
Borders’ liquidation sales were formally approved by the bankruptcy court on Thursday afternoon, with those sales starting today. The stores will accept gift cards until liquidation is completed. Borders Bucks will be honored through July 31 only, and Borders Reward Plus discounts will be granted through August 5, limited to an additional 10 percent off any purchases. Judge Glenn also provisionally approved the sale of 30 stores to Books-A-Million, including furniture, fixtures, equipment, and inventory, and obligates BAMM to pay all cure costs (including taxes, rent, and CAM charges) should the sale go through. But the sale requires the approval […]
At Liquidation Hearing, BAMM Offers To Buy As Many As 35 Borders Stores
Borders lawyer Andrew Glenn called it “a very bittersweet day” at Thursday morning’s bankruptcy court hearing, as he again reiterated the company’s disappointment that no full going concern bids emerged by the July 17 deadline. But in what he characterized as a “late breaking development”, Books-a-Million has indeed offered to take over the leases, inventory, furniture, and other related items on 30 stores, with an option on a further five stores. The offer would preserve anywhere from between 1000 and 1500 jobs, Glenn said, and he asked the court to proceed and later approve of the agreement, which Borders said […]