The big Apple-funded pool of up to $400 million in consumer credits as a result of the ebook settlement agreement with the consumer class and state attorneys general began distribution about a year ago — which means that any unused or unclaimed credits will expire at the end of the day on June 24. Many retailers (and media outlets) are providing one last round of notification to customers to “use it or lose it.” But the really interesting question is what will happen next. Unclaimed funds will remain after the deadline expires, and given the size of the original settlement, […]
Legal
The Kenyon-Clare Legal Dispute Continues, with Trial Date for 2018
The Bookseller has an update on the long-running legal dispute between Sherrilyn Kenyon and Cassandra Clare, first filed by Kenyon in early 2016, though it seems to come from Clare’s attorney Jon Cahill. What Cahill focuses on is their motion filed Tuesday, pressing Kenyon to produce “evidence of her claims.” He argues that responses provided by Kenyon in May “remain deficient, because…they are little more than a rehash of the allegations in the Amended Complaint.” What the docket also shows, however, is that earlier this week Chief District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw set a jury trial date of September 11, […]
Harper and Kipnis Oppose Pseudonymous Lawsuit
Attorneys representing HarperCollins and author Laura Kipnis filed their first response to the Jane Doe lawsuit over the publication of Unwanted Advances, alleging public disclosure of private facts that “were not of legitimate public concern,” false light invasion of privacy, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The defendants responded to a motion by the plaintiff to proceed under a pseudonym, asking the court to deny that request. Arguing “the bar is set quite high for a party to proceed pseudonymously,” the defendants note that the “plaintiff’s identity as the graduate student who filed a Title IX complaint against former […]
Textbook Author Sues Pearson
Last week professor of engineering at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette and author of multiple engineering textbooks Russell Hibbeler filed suit in a Tennessee Federal Court against Pearson, alleging significant underpaid and/or unpaid royalties and charging the publisher with creating derivative works with permission and payment. (Hibbeler lives in Nashville.) The suit is of potentially broad interest given the extent but also the nature of Professor Hibbeler’s claims. In a 2015 audit from the Royalty Compliance Organization, Hibbeler says they discovered “significant underpayments and non- payments of royalties and other compensation due.” As part of the audit, “Pearson discovered […]
Bookselling: New Stores, Financial and Legal Updates
After closing last fall, Guide to Kulchur will reopen in Cleveland, OH this month as a bookstore with a “black box space” next door. Founder RA Washington told Cleveland Scene that, with the support of local foundation, he hopes to make the new enterprise a non-profit organization. In addition to bookselling, his goals for the non-profit include “providing books to prisoners; operating GTK Press, a small press for insurgent literature and marginalized voices; and curating speakers and performers in the black box space.” Neighborhood Reads is holding a grand opening in downtown Washington, MS today. And earlier this month, Brick & Mortar […]
Northwestern Student Sues Harper and Author Kipnis Over Unwanted Advances Book
A Northwestern University graduate student filed a Jane Doe lawsuit in an Illinois Federal Court on Monday against author Laura Kipnis and publisher HarperCollins over the publication of Unwanted Advances. The suit alleges counts of public disclosure of private facts that “were not of legitimate public concern,” false light invasion of privacy, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The filing claims that Kipnis wrote the book “in part, to retaliate against plaintiff for her filing of a Title IX complaint against her colleague [Peter] Ludlow and for her subsequent complaint against Kipnis.” Saying that “Kipnis had a clear motive to […]