Notable Lawsuits in 2015

For years now the future of publishing has been driven more by litigation than innovation. While 2015 leaves a couple of key cases right near the edge of resolution — the biggest question is whether the Supreme Court will agree to hear Apple’s appeal of the ebook antitrust ruling (the odds of the Court taking any case are very low, though legal experts guess that if the justices take the case, they are likely to find for Apple) — we may be coming to the end of the “digital dispute decade,” at least in the US.

But in time-warped Europe, market concentration issues are coming to the forefront for regulators, just as the EU looks to constrain American-born internet giants of all kinds, in all kinds of ways. So the legal battle may simply be shifting territory. And while EU antitrust authorities are examining the market power of Amazon/Kindle/Audible — thanks in part to lobbying by booksellers and publishers — separate EU copyright initiatives remain of substantial concern to publisher.

Beyond the Apple case — with a settlement payout of up to $400 million to consumers to spend on books hanging in the balance — the largest holdover matters include the revised authors suit against Harlequin, and Jesse Ventura’s defamation suit against the Chris Kyle estate, now at the appeals stage.

To keep track, here is a roundup of notable disputes, ongoing and resolved in 2015:

Apple vs. the DOJ, States, and Consumer Class

Fifty Shades Lawsuit

New Cases: European Amazon Antitrust Investigations

Other New Cases

Continuing Matters

  • After Judge William Pauley certified the author class in a lawsuit against Harlequin last October, various motions were filed that set a schedule preparing for a trial some time in 2016. Discovery and expert witness testimony is scheduled to be completed by March 21, 2016, and a final pre-trial conference is set for April 29, 2016.
  • Jesse Ventura‘s lawsuit against HarperCollins, filed last December, was stayed in January pending a decision from the Eight Circuit of Appeals on Ventura’s lawsuit against the Chris Kyle estate, which he won last July. Subsequently, in October the appeals court gave weight to the argument that the jury should not have been told an insurer would pay Ventura’s damages.

RESOLVED CASES

Authors vs. Author Solutions

Family Christian Bankruptcy

Google Cases

Other Matters