At the end of last week, a Texas District Court judge rejected shareholders’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking the proposed buyout of Hastings by National Entertainment Collectibles. The court did not find “a substantial likelihood of success on the merits” for the plaintiffs, though this ruling does not block the shareholders’ lawsuit from going forward. It simply denies any expedited discovery, and means the suit will not prevent the merger from going forward. The court recognizes that “a judgment for money damages is a potential post-merger appraisal remedy.” Ruling
Legal
Appeals Court Upholds Ruling That Pre-1923 Sherlock Holmes Stories Are in Public Domain
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2013 lower court ruling holding that 46 Sherlock Holmes stories and four novels created by Arthur Conan Doyle before 1923, along with the signature characters in those books such as Holmes and Dr. Watson, are in the public domain. The original suit by Leslie Klinger sought clarification after the Conan Doyle Estate demanded (and received) $5000 in licensing fees for an anthology of new fiction featuring Sherlock Holmes published by Random House, then demanded additional fees for a follow-up anthology slated for publication by Pegasus. Klinger won that suit last December, after which […]
Apple Settles with States & Consumers In Sealed Agreement
Apple has agreed to settle with the plaintiff states and consumer class in an agreement filed under seal with Judge Denise Cote late Monday. The amount they will pay has not been disclosed yet, and the tendering of those payments is dependent upon the outcome of Apple’s appeal of the verdict against them — so it would be some time before any of those monies are dispersed. Those terms are likely to be revealed in a second filing, by mid-July. In a letter from Steve Berman of Hagens Berman, on behalf of the plaintiff parties, he writes that all sides […]
Digital Etc.: More Google Play Books, Guild Statement, and A Wiley Buy
Google Play Books is in the process of adding 13 countries to the roster of territories where their service is live. Norway, the Netherlands and Colombia have already been added, with Paraguay, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Ecuador, Uruguay, Panama, Honduras, and Dominican Republic coming soon. A Google Plus post announced the new additions prematurely, but they will bring the service up to 55 countries in all. The Authors Guild posted a statement about the Appeals Court ruling in the Hathi Trust case. Despite the defeat, the Guild remains firm that, “We continue to believe that it is fundamentally unfair […]
Appeals Court Upholds Hathi Trust As Fair Use; Rules Authors Guild Has No Standing
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Tuesday morning that broadly affirms District Court Judge Harold Baer’s finding in October 2012 that the Hathi Trust Digital Library — created by academic libraries that participated in the Google Books Library Project — qualifies as “fair use” under copyright law. The Appeals Court upheld the two significant uses of the Hathi Trust: to allow full-text word searches across the entire database of over 10 million books, and to allow verified print-disabled patrons affiliated with a Hathi Trust member institution to access full-text versions. (Note that so far, only the […]
Legal: Judge Cote Says Apple Faces State Civil Penalties, Expresses Sympathy For Separate Case from Small eBook Retailers
On Thursday Judge Denise Cote issued two separate opinions that solidified her stance against Apple and expressed her opinion that the company’s actions also harmed third-party ebook retailers, even as she stressed they may have difficulty proving their case. In a 45-page opinion, Cote ruled Apple should face state civil penalties in addition to the treble damages expected to be awarded after a trial in August 25. She reasoned “the ‘reprehensibility’ of Apple’s participation in the price fixing conspiracy is proportional to the penalties sought” and that “Apple has expressed no recognition that its conduct was wrongful, suggesting a lack […]