HarperCollins UK and Putin’s People author Catherine Belton have settled the litigation brought by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich over sections of the book that claim he purchased Chelsea Football Club under the direction of Vladimir Putin. Per the agreement, the publisher will amend text concerning the purchase, and issue a new edition with a more thorough explanation of why Abramovich bought the club. The settlement follows a November preliminary ruling by a UK high court judge that the statements are defamatory and preempts a trial that was expected in the new year. HarperCollins UK wrote in a release, “While the […]
Legal
2021: The Year In Legal News
A busy legal docket this year involved antitrust suits, embezzlement, copyright infringement, and misconduct by government officials. The suit brought by the Department of Justice to block Penguin Random House’s acquisition drew the most attention within the publishing world and is headed to an August 1, 2022 trial date, while former governor Andrew Cuomo was investigated for ethical breaches in writing his memoir. Elsewhere, a legal battle between former agency partners dragged on the entire year, still leaving many authors and others waiting to be paid. In January, literary agent Peter McGuigan filed suit on behalf of himself and the […]
AAP Asks for Preliminary Injunction to Block Maryland’s Library Law
On December 16, the AAP filed documents seeking a preliminary injunction against the state of Maryland that would block a new law requiring publishers to license ebooks to public libraries “on reasonable terms” from going into effect on January 1. That requests follows the organization’s suit filed on December 9 against this precedent-breaking legislation. The organization argues: “First, AAP is likely to succeed on the merits of showing that the Maryland Act is preempted by federal law. The Maryland Act impermissibly intrudes into federal copyright law by implementing a state-law compulsory licensing scheme that deprives copyright holders of their exclusive […]
FEC Allows Random House to Rent Campaign Email List
The Daily Beast reports that the Federal Election Commission has allowed Random House to rent Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) campaign email list to promote his October book, Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could. Significantly, the decision opens up the possibility of the same for other politicians. The FEC decided that it would allow the rental as long as Random House pays fair market value for the list, and “no Committee resources or personnel would be used to promote the book.” Schiff petitioned the FEC for the use of the list after his book came […]
Penguin Random House Answers DOJ
Penguin Random House filed their initial answer on Monday to the Department of Justice’s complaint seeking to block the publisher’s plan to acquire Simon & Schuster. The reply challenges the core of the DOJ’s case, which asserts that the acquisition is “likely to substantially lessen competition” for “the acquisition of US publishing rights to books from authors,” focusing in particular on what the government describes as the market for “anticipated top-selling books,” which “would be highly concentrated.” But is that an acceptable market definition? PRH argues that, “DOJ invents a market for rights to ‘anticipated top-selling books’ that excludes the […]
AAP Sues to Block Maryland’s New Law on Library eBook Licensing
With Maryland’s precedent-breaking law requiring publishers to license ebooks to public libraries “on reasonable terms” set to be implemented at the beginning of 2022, the AAP has filed in the US District Court for Maryland. The association seeks, “A declaration that the Maryland Act is preempted by federal law and unconstitutional, and an injunction preventing its enforcement.” They allege four causes of action, including express and conflict preemption under the Copyright Act and the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, along with violations of the Commerce Clause, and the Due Process Clauses. While the AAP usually supports and organizes actions brought […]