U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Gregg voided the results of the complicated bankruptcy auction for the Family Christian Stores bookselling chain, calling the process “at times, nothing short of chaotic.” At the same time, the Judge wrote, “While the Debtors clearly made mistakes at the auction, this court concludes that the allegations of fraud and unfairness are, in large part, unfounded.” That presents FCS with two main options: Reopen the bankruptcy auction, under the expanded oversight of the United States Trustee’s office, or, “as an alternative to recommencing the auction, the Debtors may simply wish to file a plan of reorganization […]
Legal
European Commission Investigates Amazon’s eBook MFNs In UK and Germany
The European Commission announced Thursday morning “a formal antitrust investigation into certain business practices by Amazon in the distribution of electronic books. Their focus is “certain clauses included in Amazon’s contracts with publishers. These clauses require publishers to inform Amazon about more favorable or alternative terms offered to Amazon’s competitors and/or offer Amazon similar terms and conditions than to its competitors, or through other means ensure that Amazon is offered terms at least as good as those for its competitors.” The EC’s scrutiny is on the two largest European markets for ebooks, the UK and Germany. The central question is whether Amazon’s most […]
Copyright Office Proposes “Pilot” Test of Rights Registry
The US Copyright Office published an extensive report on Orphan Works and Mass Digitization after extensive research and consultation, providing recommendations as Congress once again considers revision of copyright law. We’ve just begun reviewing the extensive 234-page document, which you can view/download here. The office fundamentally agrees with the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act that was passed by the Senate in 2008 but never went anywhere in the House of Representatives, saying it “continues to be the most viable legislative solution.” That process provides “a framework in which liability is limited for a user who conducts a good faith diligent search for the copyright owner” […]
Briefs: Canongate To Publish Rhodes Memoir After Winning Legal Battle; Regional Bookseller Paperbacks From Unbridled Books
Canongate will publish British classical pianist James Rhodes‘ memoir Instrumental on May 28 as an ebook and the following week in hardcover after the UK Supreme Court overturned an injunction that banned publication. The injunction resulted from a lawsuit by Rhodes’ former wife, who claimed publication of the memoir, which details Rhodes’ childhood sexual abuse by his teacher, “were so disturbing that their son [who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome] would suffer catastrophic psychological distress if he were to read it.” In delivering the judgment Lord Toulson wrote: “There is every justification for the publication. A person who has suffered in […]
Legal Briefs: Testing Self-Publishing Liability, and More
A couple whose picture was used without permission on the cover of the self-published novel A Gronking to Remember by Lacey Noonan has filed a suit that may further illuminate the extent to which the Communications Decency Act of 1996 shields ebooksellers that run their own self-publishing platforms. The plaintiffs have sued Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble along with author Noonan. The 1996 Act protects “interactive computer services” from liability as the publisher or speaker of information provided by another content provider — yet the act has exceptions for intellectual property law and communications privacy law. In a more […]
Writers Coffee Shop Owner Ordered To Set Aside $10M in Escrow In Fifty Shades Lawsuit
Two months after a Texas state court jury ruled that Jennifer Lynn Pedroza, former chief marketing officer of Australian publisher The Writers Coffee Shop, is entitled to a share of the proceeds from EL James’ FIFTY SHADES trilogy, state district judge Susan McCoy, ordered the defendant, TWCS founder Amanda Hayward, to deposit a minimum of $10 million into an escrow account until a final accounting determines how much Pedroza is actually owed. According to the Star-Telegram, a hearing last week “divulged that the e-publishing business that Hayward, Pedroza and two other women formed, which originally released what would become an international […]