Books-A-Million’s original plans to buy as many as 35 stores from Borders fell through in July, but now the two retailers are trying again – albeit for a smaller number of stores this time. Documents filed in federal bankruptcy court late Wednesday indicate that BAMM has reached a deal for $934,209 to buy 14 superstores and small format stores from Borders, as well as assume responsibility for the leases. That amount comprises $184,209 to pay for cure costs to the landlords (which BAMM would pay upon the deal closing) and $750,000 for the stores and lease agreements themselves. The deal […]
Legal
Martha Grimes Sues Penguin For Deducting Legal Expenses Against Advance
Bestselling mystery writer Martha Grimes has been involved in a series of court appearances related to her termination of representation by the Peter Lampack Agency (PLA) in 2007 after more than 11 years as a client. In the latest development, Grimes filed suit on August 12 in a New York Federal Court against her longtime publisher Penguin, alleging that the company materially breached its publishing contract with Grimes by not paying her $200,000 in advances and by setting-off legal expenses against her earnings in excess of what was provided for in their contract. She also alleges that Penguin “put its own […]
W. Paul Young Signs With Hachette For Next Book After Settling ‘The Shack’ Lawsuit
Hachette Book Group has signed William Paul Young for an untitled follow up to his multi-million selling novel THE SHACK, for which the publisher’s Faith Words imprint handled marketing, manufacturing, sales and distribution since mid-2008 after the original edition from Windblown Media sold over a million copies. The news comes shortly after Young reached a final settlement agreement with Windblown Media founders Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings on undisclosed terms on August 12, a deal that had been in the works for some time. (Young had alleged accounting improprieties, and Jacobsen and Cummings counter-sued, seeking joint copyright in the book.) […]
Legal News: Another Appeals Case Rules First Sale Doctrine Is US-Only; ‘The Shack’ Lawsuit Finally Settled
Just a few weeks after the Ninth Circuit ruled in a case featuring Costco’s sale of imported Omega watches that the first sale doctrine does not apply to imported goods, another ruling this week from the Second Circuit more forcefully confirms this conclusion – and this time it involves book sales. In a 2-1 decision, the court said Supap Kirtsaeng violated Wiley’s copyrights when he sold cheap foreign editions of the publishers’ textbooks in the US because first sale doctrine does not apply to books sold outside of the country. Any other conclusion would undercut a law already on the books […]
Class Action Lawsuits Against Apple and Agency Publishers Proliferate
When the Seattle law firm Hagens Berman filed suit against Apple and publishers Hachette, Macmillan, HarperCollins, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster last week, they specifically sought media coverage–and got it. Without press releases, what was missed was that four additional suits, all seeking to be part of a larger class action, were filed in federal courts in New York and California between August 10 and August 12. Across the various suits, Random House, Amazon and Barnes & Noble all get added to the legal feasting as well. As you may surmise, each of these suits works off the same logic […]
‘Elf On the Shelf’ Publishers Sue Adams Media Over Parody
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 […]