OCLC has filed a lawsuit against Clarivate and its subsidiaries Clarivate Analytics, ProQuest and ExLibris for “tortious interference of contract, tortious interference of prospective business relationships, and conspiracy to do the same.” ExLibris is developing a collaborative cataloging system called MetaDoor, a competitor to WorldCat, OCLC’s collective catalog of library bibliographic content that is populated by library members who are contracted with OCLC. (OCLC says 8,000 libraries have WorldCat subscriptions.) The suit alleges that Clarivate has built MetaDoor with data from WorldCat, given to them by OCLC customers—a breach of those customers’ contract with OCLC. “In addition to tortiously interfering […]
Legal
Judge Finalizes Order Finding Maryland’s Library eBook Lending Law Unconstitutional, with No Need for A Permanent Injunction
Federal Judge Deborah L. Boardman finalized her order granting declaratory judgment in favor of the AAP, declaring the state of Maryland’s library ebook lending “unconstitutional and unenforceable because it conflicts with and is preempted by the Copyright Act…. The Maryland Act is unconstitutional and unenforceable.” At the same time, Judge Boardman found that “such declaratory relief obviates the need for a permanent injunction” in addition, even though the AAP had argued for that additional measure. The order follows the judge’s quick imposition of a temporary injunction blocking the Maryland law in February. In her reasoning, Judge Boardman agreed with the […]
ABFE Condemns Efforts to Rule Two Books Obscene in VA
American Booksellers for Free Expression, a part of the American Booksellers Association, issued a statement condemning the preliminary opinion of a Virginia judge that Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas could be “obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors.” Two local politicians requested a restraining order against Barnes & Noble and Virginia Beach schools for having the book available to purchase or borrow. “The Virginia judge’s opinion is troubling in that the order could threaten the First Amendment right of a bookseller to sell a book, and that it does so […]
Virginia Politicians Seek Restraining Order Against B&N for Selling Two Books
The Virginia Beach Circuit Court issued preliminary orders finding “probable cause to believe” that two books — A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by Sarah J. Maas and GENDER QUEER by Maia Kobabe — are deemed “obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors” under Virginia state law. The authors or publishers have 21 days to respond to the allegations. The orders are the result of agitation by two local politicians: Attorney Tim Anderson, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, petitioned the court on behalf of his client Tommy Altman, a candidate in the Republican congressional primary, Book Riot reported. Anderson […]
Chelsea Green Suit Against Sen. Warren “Unlikely to Succeed”
A judge rejected a request from publisher Chelsea Green and authors of the book The Truth About COVID-19 that Sen. Elizabeth Warren retract a letter that criticizes the book as “vaccine misinformation,” the AP reports. Chelsea Green and authors Dr. Joseph Mercola, Ronald Cummins and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sued Warren in November after Warren wrote a letter to Amazon criticizing the retailer for “peddling misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and treatments through its search and ‘Best Seller’ algorithms” that led the book to top search results. The plaintiffs argue in their lawsuit that Warren’s letter infringes on their First Amendments […]
Bernardini Gets Postponement for “A Mitigation Submission”
A status conference in the case of accused manuscript thief Filippo Bernardini has been postponed for the second time at the request of the defense, now rescheduled from May 4 to July 6. Federal defender Hannah McCrea wrote that “the defense is preparing a mitigation submission” and wants more time to complete the package “and give the government time to consider it.” The previous postponement was for the defense to “complete review of the discovery that has been produced.”