The Institute for Justice is representing small, on-demand publisher Valancourt Books in a federal lawsuit challenging the US Copyright Office’s deposit demand, which requires providing two free copies of anything copyrightable. Valancourt, which has a list of about 400 reprints of out-of-print titles — “all of which contain at least some new material, like scholarly introductions or footnotes, that is copyrightable” — says it cannot afford to provide the deposit copies, and should have not have to do so for works that exist primarily as digital files. The Institute writes, “You don’t owe the federal government anything just because you […]
Legal
Barnes & Noble: Lots of Questions
Former Barnes & Noble ceo Demos Parneros’s fiery lawsuit against the company for defamation and breach of contract raises lots of currently unanswerable questions. We are readers so here, at least, are some documents for you to scrutinize: – First is the full 19-page complaint from Parneros, which we posted yesterday – There is Parneros’s employment contract, which we posted when he was fired for cause in July. Note that it has the standard confidentiality and mutual non-disparagement clauses, which apply “during and after any employment with the Company, regardless of how, when or why such employment ends.” – Looking […]
Parneros Sues Barnes & Noble for Breach and Defamation, Says Riggio Turned On Him After Sale to Another Book Retailer Fell Through; Company Calls Suit Extortion
Former Barnes & Noble ceo Demos Parneros filed suit against the bookseller in a New York Federal Court on Tuesday, alleging breach of contract and defamation in connection with his dismissal without severance in early July. Parneros seeks the “severance that is due him, which is over $4 million in cash, plus equity,” along with additional damages. His primarily allegation is that the company “falsely stated that Parneros had violated company policy and did so in language and in a manner that defendant knew full well was false but would be read as reporting that Parneros had engaged in serious […]
People, Etc.
Priyanka Krishnan, formerly at Harper Voyager, has joined Orbit as editor. Bradley Englert has been promoted to editor. At Penguin Random House Canada, Beth Lockley is promoted to the new position of vp, marketing and communications, overseeing a combined marketing and publicity team and reporting to chief operating officer Robert Wheaton. Longtime executive Tracey Turriff, who has been vp, publicity and svp, corporate communications, is leaving as a result, after 22 years with the company. (Both Lockley and Turriff had once reported to now-retired ceo Brad Martin.) Josh Glover has been promoted to director, publicity. The August pick for the PBS […]
Judge Dismisses Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Harbach’s THE ART OF FIELDING
A copyright infringement lawsuit filed against THE ART OF FIELDING author Chad Harbach by Charles Green has been dismissed. Green’s suit, filed last year, claimed Harbach pilfered portions of his unpublished novel BUCKY’S 9TH. But in a 13-page order, Southern District of New York federal judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that any similarities between the two novels “were trivial details…not copyrightable abstract ideas, or, when understood in context, not actually similar.” While “both works are about a struggling Division III baseball college team, and both works track the baseball team’s changed fortunes after the arrival of a new player…that is the […]
People, Etc.
Longtime Washington Post Book World editor Ron Charles is transitioning into a “redefined job” at the paper. He writes: “No more editing! From now on, I just get to write about books for the paper. After assigning and editing reviews every day for more than 20 years, I feel like that old tiger finally released from his cage who just keeps walking back and forth where the bars used to be. . . . Friends tell me I’ll get the hang of it.” Succeeding Charles as Book World editor is Stephanie Merry, who was previously a culture reporter for the […]