Three years after the Supreme Court sided with Supap Kirtsaeng on the matter of whether first sale doctrine allowed him to keep the profits from reselling foreign-language editions of Wiley textbooks, the high court has affirmed lower court rulings (in part) on the matter of whether Kirtsaeng had the right to recover his attorney fees from Wiley. In a 12-page opinion, Judge Elena Kagan remanded the case back to the lower courts, saying they may not have “understood the full scope of that discretion…to make an award even when the losing party advanced a reasonable claim or defense.” In the end, “This Court agrees with both […]
Legal
Appeals Court Orders New Trial in Ventura’s Defamation Case Against Kyle Estate
The 8th Circuit Appeals Court has ordered a new trial in Jesse Ventura’s defamation suit against the estate of Chris Kyle for comments in Kyle’s bestseller American Sniper and subsequent remarks about that passage. The defamation award of $500,000 was vacated, and an additional award of $1.3 million for “unjust enrichment” was thrown out entirely, with that finding reversed. The opinion from the three-judge appellate court comes seven months after the court said it would consider ordering a new trial in the wake of Ventura’s defense team making comments about HarperCollins’ insurance being “on the hook” if the jury found Ventura […]
Copyright Office Looks for Final Comments On Updates to Library Reproductions
The US Copyright Office has been in discussions with interested parties about potential revisions to the section of copyright law covering exceptions for reproductions by libraries and archives (aka section 108) since back in 2005. Those efforts are finally nearing the drafting of legislative recommendations for consideration by Congress. The objective is “updating the provisions to better reflect the facts, practices, and principles of the digital age and to provide greater clarity for libraries, archives, and museums.” As part of that process, the Copyright Office is formally eliciting public comment on a narrowly-defined set of remaining issues, “including, especially, provisions concerning […]
$400 Million In Consumer eBook Settlement Credits Should Flow Later In June
After the Supreme Court declined to hear Apple’s appeal of the 2013 ebook antitrust ruling in March, the big question has been when the $400 million in compensation to consumers (plus $50 million in attorney fees) as stipulated in the previous settlement with the state attorneys general and the consumer class would be disbursed. Because of a potential Supreme Court appeal from a “professional objector” to the settlement, attorneys were “hoping” to see payment to ebook purchasers “by fall of 2016.” Now partner Shana Scarlett at Hagens Berman, the law firm that filed the original class action lawsuit in 2012 and still represents the consumer class, tells PL in response […]
Author Sues to Challenge eBooks As Sale Rather Than License, But He Sues the Wrong Publisher
Publishers’ early insistence on treating consumer ebook transactions as sales for royalty purposes, even though the files are provided to paying individuals under limited license rather than sold, is being challenged in an author lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court on May 19, seeking class action status. But the author and his attorneys appear to have brought suit against the wrong company, so the current filing will likely be rejected for lack of standing. The brief six-page lawsuit, first noticed by CopyLaw, was filed by Sheldon Blau, author of How to Get Out of the Hospital Alive against Simon & […]
Following Bloomberg Investigation Amazon Promises Same Day Delivery for Roxbury, MA; Congressman Calls for FTC Inquiry
Amazon responded to criticism in the wake of Bloomberg’s extensive investigation showing that the rollout of their Prime Same-Day Delivery service has focused on areas where residents are primarily white, and overlooked neighborhoods. The company is correcting what Bloomberg had called “the most striking gap in Amazon’s same-day service,” which was “in Boston, where three ZIP codes encompassing the primarily black neighborhood of Roxbury are excluded from same-day service, while the neighborhoods that surround it on all sides are eligible.” Amazon told Bloomberg by email, “We are actively working with our local carrier to enable service to the Roxbury neighborhood in the coming weeks.” […]