Legal

A judge ruled on Tuesday that former New York governor Andrew Cuomo can keep the $5.1 million book advance he received for his memoir American Crisis–for now. The now-defunct Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) ordered Cuomo to turn over the advance to the state last December, after it was discovered that he used state employees to work on the book during business hours. Cuomo had previously obtained permission from the commission to use state employees, as long as they worked on the book in their free time. Judge Denise A. Hartman of the State Supreme Court in Albany ruled […]

The AAP notified Judge Deborah L. Boardman that it “does not wish to burden the Court with a request for costs and fees” from the State of Maryland after their thorough drubbing in court. But in a warning to other states still contemplating similarly unconstitutional efforts to encroach on the Copyright Act with respect to terms for ebooks sold or licensed to libraries, the AAP makes clear that its “decision is limited to this case, which involved the first bill of its type passed by a state legislature. AAP expressly reserves all rights, claims, and remedies that may be applicable […]

With the trial on whether to block Penguin Random House’s acquisition of Simon & Schuster set to begin on August 1, the government and the publisher are skirmishing on multiple fronts with motions arguing over what evidence can be presented at trial. Since nearly all of the discovery and trial preparation has happened under seal, these filings from the past week or so provide the first public glimpses of the case as it has evolved. One set of papers debates whether PRH’s announced pledge to “treat Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster imprints as external parties in auctions for […]

In late June, US District Court Judge Colleen McMahon agreed to postpone once again last week’s scheduled status conference in the prosecution of accused manuscript thief Filippo Bernardini. The prosecutors told the judge that they are reviewing “a deferred prosecution request” from Bernardini’s counsel. Judge McMahon adjourned the case until September 10, “to facilitate discussions concerning a pre-trial disposition.” A deferred prosecution agreement (commonly called a DPA) is essentially an informal type of probation. The case is deferred by the judge, while the defendant fulfills specified supervision and commitments (which can include fines or penalties). If the terms and conditions […]

In the long-running publisher lawsuit against the Internet Archive for copyright infringement, both sides submitted motions seeking summary judgement to the court on Thursday night, supplemented by extensive witness declarations. While summary judgment for either side is unlikely, the documents provide an updated look at the case, a little more than two years after it was initiated. And formal arguments before Judge John Koeltl won’t happen until the fall, so any ruling on this early stage of the movement to trial will not occur for some time. (Our apologies in advance for any incompleteness today; the filed documents comprise many […]

Barnes & Noble, Bloomsbury and Sarah J. Maas, and Oni Press and Maia Kobabe have filed motions to dismiss the case that alleges A Court of Mist and Fury and Gender Queer are “obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors,” the Virginian-Pilot reports. Barnes & Noble states that the court cannot restrict access to minors “while allowing adults unrestricted access.” While the original petition references excerpts from the books, the authors and publishers say that the books as a whole are not obscene “under state and constitutional law.” They also argue that the petition should be dismissed because the books have […]