The Authors Guild’s long-running copyright infringement lawsuit against the has finally reached the end with the announcement that the Guild will no longer pursue any legal action. The news comes after the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed portions of a lower court ruling, finding that the HathiTrust digital library’s full-text search and display of texts to the print-disabled qualified as fair use. (The Guild had criticized that the ruling and said three months ago that it would “announce its next steps shortly.”) Under the new agreement that drops any further re-examination by the lower court, the HathiTrust libraries represent to the Guild that their copying […]
Legal
After Winning Judgment From Kyle Estate, Ventura Sues HarperCollins
Six months after winning a $1.8 million award from the Chris Kyle estate in his defamation lawsuit, former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura has filed suit against HarperCollins — publisher of AMERICAN SNIPER — in Minnesota Federal Court, seeking damages “in excess of $75,000” for defamation. As in the earlier suit against Kyle (and later, after his 2013 death, Kyle’s estate), Ventura takes issue with the “Scruff face” chapter in American Sniper, which documents an alleged fight between Kyle and Ventura and attributes anti-American remarks to Ventura which he denies ever making. “The publicity and controversy generated by the false and defamatory […]
All Sides Grilled During Oral Arguments for Apple’s Appeal
An extended oral arguments hearing Monday morning at the 2nd Circuit Court of appeals did not immediately make clear how the three-judge panel would rule on Apple’s appeal of 2013’s ebook antitrust trial, but it did show the court would not spare any side thorough questioning — often to entertaining effect. Ted Boutrous, arguing for Apple, spent much of his allotted 20 minutes comparing his client’s “extraordinary case on antitrust law” to that of Leegin, saying the precedent set by the Supreme Court in that case would be ignored if Judge Denise Cote’s 2013 ruling finding Apple guilty is allowed to stand. […]
First Report: Government Goes Long In Apple Appeals Court Argument
The scheduled one-hour Appeals Court hearing on Apple’s appeal of Judge Denise Cote’s ruling finding the company guilty of antitrust violations went long on Monday morning, in part because Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart arguing for the government was allowed to go 16 minutes beyond his allotted 20-minute slot. (Sarah Weinman has called in this first report immediately after the hearing let out. She will be filing a full report here within the hour.) Also appearing today were lawyers were Simon & Schuster and Macmillan, advancing their argument that the court’s injunction on Apple unfairly imposes adverse effects on the publishers, […]
Court Hears Appeal of “Fair Use” Ruling on Google’s Book Scanning
The Authors Guild had might be their final day in court in opposition to Google’s scanning of books in academic libraries on Wednesday, in a hearing before a three-judge panel of Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Guild is appealing Judge Denny Chin’s ruling from November 2013 finding Google’s scanning of library books “highly transformative” after eight years of litigation. The Guild argued in their appeal that, “While Google may have figured out a way to transform the creative output of authors into advertising dollars for Google’s shareholders, Google’s unauthorized commercial uses are not transformative within the copyright law.” In […]
Judge Cote Rubber-Stamps Apple Settlement
In a hearing Friday morning Judge Denise Cote approved the settlement agreed upon between Apple, the plaintiff states, and the consumer class. As previously reported, the settlement hinges upon how the 2nd Circuit of Appeals will rule — whenever that happens — on Apple’s appeal of Judge Cote’s July 2013 verdict finding the company guilty of violating antitrust actions. Oral arguments for the appeal are set for December 15. If Apple’s appeal is denied, they will pay $450 million, including administrative and legal costs, to the states and consumer class. If Judge Cote’s ruling is sent back to her by […]