A former Macmillan employee, Victoria Batchelor, has filed a lawsuit seeking class action status against Macmillan in the Southern District of New York related to June’s cyber attack and data breach. The suit alleges that Macmillan failed to “protect highly sensitive data” and had “no effective means to prevent, detect, stop, or mitigate breaches of its systems—thereby allowing cybercriminals unrestricted access to employee PII.” Macmillan had disclosed a ransomware “security incident” that began on June 25 and shut their systems down for a week or more. But according to filings with state attorneys general and the new lawsuit systems, the […]
Legal
Authors Place Press Settles Lawsuit with Authors Guild; Will Stop Publishing
A small press that was sued last month by the Authors Guild over nonpayment has settled, the AG announced. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of 11 authors and led by Karyn Schoenbart, accused Authors Place Press of failing to pay royalties, provide royalty statements, or revert rights to the authors. In the settlement, Authors Place owner Tony Ferraro agreed to revert book rights to the plaintiffs, terminate their agreements so they may publish elsewhere, and provide the authors with all artwork, text, and design files free of charge. Ferraro will also pay Schoenbart–former ceo of NPD Group–“a token monetary payment” […]
Bill to Limit Library E-Book Lending Fails in VA Senate
A bill failed in the Virginia state senate yesterday that would have prevented publishers from imposing limits on lending electronic material. The Committee on General Laws and Technology voted 15-0 to block the bill. The bill stipulated that a publisher’s contract with a library could not “Preclude…the Library from licensing any electronic literary material;” “Restrict the number of licenses for any electronic literary material that a library may acquire after the same item is made available to the public;” “Require a library to pay a cost-per-circulation fee to loan any electronic literary material, unless substantially lower in aggregate than the […]
Trump Sues Woodward and S&S For Publishing Audiobook without A License
In a typically hyperbolic filing, Donald Trump sued author Bob Woodward and publisher Simon & Schuster in a Pensacola, FL Federal Court on Monday, alleging that audiobook THE TRUMP TAPES: Bob Woodward’s Twenty Interviews with President Donald Trump was published without Trump’s permission and infringes his rights. The suit argues that when Trump agreed to speak with Woodward on multiple occasions and consented to being recorded, it was clear that the purpose and use was limited to Woodward’s planned book RAGE. The filing does not attach or cite a contract or release of any kind, suggesting that any agreement or […]
Trump Lawyer Threatens To Pursue “All Legal Remedies” Against Pomerantz Book
Donald Trump’s lawyer Joseph Tacopina sent a letter to Mark Pomerantz, author of forthcoming PEOPLE VS. DONALD TRUMP, threatening to “aggressively pursue all legal remedies” against the author and publisher Simon & Schuster if the book is published. The book is due out on February 7. Tacopina’s letter claims Pomerantz has made defamatory statements about Trump, specifically referencing Pomerantz’s resignation letter submitted to the New York County District Attorney’s Office, which is reportedly reproduced in the book. Pomerantz, who was a prosecutor in the criminal investigation of Trump brought by former DA Cy Vance in 2021, wrote that Trump is […]
Manhattan DA Warns S&S About Book From Trump Prosecutor
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg issued a letter on Wednesday to Simon & Schuster warning the publisher that the forthcoming book PEOPLE VS. DONALD TRUMP: AN INSIDE ACCOUNT by Mark Pomerantz, slated for publication on Feb. 7, could violate confidentiality rules and jeopardize continuing investigations of Trump. Pomerantz was a prosecutor in the criminal investigation of Trump brought by former DA Cy Vance in 2021. When Bragg eventually decided not to pursue an indictment in 2022, Pomerantz resigned in protest. The letter from the DA office’s general counsel Leslie Dubeck, which does not seek to block publication, asserts, “Mr. Pomerantz […]