Five educational publishers–Macmillan Learning, Cengage Learning, Elsevier, McGraw Hill, and Pearson Education–have settled a lawsuit accusing e-commerce platform Shopify of allowing textbook piracy, Reuters reports. In a joint filing, both parties requested that the case be dismissed with prejudice so it cannot be filed again, and said that each will “bear their own fees and costs.” Representatives from the publishers and Shopify told Reuters that the case was resolved “amicably” and the settlement terms were not disclosed. The publishers brought the suit against Shopify last year, accusing the company of turning a “blind eye” to users selling pirated textbooks. They […]
Legal
Judge Dismisses Two Antitrust Suits Against Amazon and Big 5
A federal judge ended two longshot lawsuits against Amazon and the industry’s five biggest publishers, upholding recommendations from a magistrate judge last month. US District Judge Gregory Woods dismissed the cases without prejudice, and the plaintiffs can refile if they choose. One suit was brought in the name of Illinois bookseller Bookends & Beginnings, accusing the publishers of colluding with Amazon to offer special discounts on print books. Federal Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo contended that collaboration on terms is both legal and logical. The other lawsuit, brought by class action specialists on behalf of consumers, alleged a tortured theory that […]
Congress Said to Prepare Resolutions Opposing School Book Bans
Following the alarming rise of selective local banning of books in various school systems, both the House and Senate are reported to be preparing resolutions “to protect the rights of students to learn.” Resolutions are expression of sentiment, however, and are not laws. From coverage in Politico, which has seen a draft, the resolution “expresses concern about the spreading problem of book banning and proliferating threats to freedom of expression in the United States” and “reaffirms the United States’ commitment to supporting writers’ freedom of expression, and the freedom of all Americans to read books without government censorship.” It also […]
Judge Florence Pan Elevated to Higher Court
As expected, the Senate confirmed the elevation of Judge Florence Pan — who is currently deciding the PRH-SS antitrust trial — to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. It has not yet been announced when Judge Pan will assume her new role, or what effect the news will have on the timing of her antitrust trial ruling. The DC appeals court is considered the second most important court in the country because of its decisions on government cases, and this marks the second time she has taken a seat vacated by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown […]
New White House Policy to Make Publicly-Funded Research Free By 2026
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) updated a policy that will make publicly funded research available immediately available to the public for free. The guidance says that federal agencies must implement the policy, “including ending the optional 12-month embargo,” by the end of 2025. Currently, journals are able to hold articles behind a paywall for a year. “This policy will likely yield significant benefits on a number of key priorities for the American people, from environmental justice to cancer breakthroughs, and from game-changing clean energy technologies to protecting civil liberties in an automated world,” the announcement […]
Judge Recommends Dismissing Bookseller Antitrust Suit
Federal Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo has filed a 59-page report, recommending dismissal of the fairly absurd lawsuit filed by class-action specialists Hagens Berman and Sperling & Slater on behalf of a single plaintiff bookseller charging that Amazon and the Big 5 publishers had colluded to grant Amazon better terms and control wholesale book prices. In March 2021, Illinois bookseller Bookends & Beginnings filed suit charging “defendants’ anticompetitive conduct has depressed book sales in the U.S. market.” Last fall, the publishers and Amazon motioned for the case to be dismissed. Judge Figueredo’s analysis, just made public with some modest redactions, urges […]