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Is anyone still paying attention to the DOJ/ebook antitrust case?

Brian Howard — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:47:07 +0000

I guess I’d forgotten. Now that all the the publishing players have settled, abandoning agency pricing and returning to the wholesale slums, the DOJ/e-book antitrust case, which popped up again in everyone’s news feeds this week, feels a little anticlimactic. The DOJ, perhaps simply because it’s what it found, or perhaps because there’s no one [...]

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Study: 30 Percent of Flyers Have Left on their Electronic Devices

Aggregated Content — Sat, 11 May 2013 02:30:34 +0000

By Stephen Silver Ever reach into your pocket at the end of a long flight to turn on your phone, only to realize it was on all along? You’re not alone. A study released Thursday found that 30 percent of U.S. airplane passengers have accidentally left a personal electronic device turned on while on a [...]

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Congress to Consider DMCA Anti-Circumvention Reform…But Probably Not Very Hard

Chris Meadows — Fri, 10 May 2013 02:40:22 +0000

Well, it’s that time of decade again. Someone in Congress has finally—or, rather, once again—taken note of how the DMCA’s anti-circumvention provisions step all over consumer rights and introduced legislation to try to balance the scales. Ars Technica reports that three Democrats and a Republican, including California rep Zoe Lofgren, have introduced the Unlocking Technology [...]

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Macmillan Finalizes E-Book Settlement

Juli Monroe — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:15:40 +0000

We’re finally nearing the end of this saga. Yesterday, Publishers Weekly reported that Macmillan has finalized their e-book settlement with the state and consumer classes. The agreement has been sent to Judge Cote, who is expected to approve it. The final total for Macmillan was $26 million, $20 million of which is earmarked for consumer compensation. [...]

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Scott Turow describes “The Slow Death of the American Author”

Susan Lulgjuraj — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:00:01 +0000

Libraries. The Internet. Pirate sites. According to author Scott Turow’s recent op-ed piece for the New York Times, these things are all to blame for the “Slow Death of the American Author.” Best-selling novelist and Author’s Guild president Scott Turow discusses how all of these entities are creating an environment where authors will make less [...]

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What the ReDigi case might mean for Amazon’s used content plans

Joanna Cabot — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:37:05 +0000

Numerous websites have been reporting on the latest twist in the ReDigi case (for example, here on Paid Content). The case sets an important potential precedent for other business plans involving the sale of digital content. I know Amazon has contemplated a move into this area, and I wonder if they might be the ones with [...]

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What does the SCOTUS’ Wiley v. Kirtsaeng decision mean for books, publishing?

Brian Howard — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:55:47 +0000

By now you’ve likely heard that the Supreme Court has ruled, in a 6-3 decision, in favor of immigrant scientist Supap Kirtsaeng in Kirtsaeng V. Wiley. In what’s being heralded as a win for consumers and libraries, and a loss for publishers, the SCOTUS overturned a previous ruling against Kirtsaeng, who had been buying textbooks printed (legally) abroad—where [...]

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Essay: Electronic Devices on Planes: Is the madness nearly over?

Aggregated Content — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:30:32 +0000

By Stephen Silver Of the many constant pet peeves associated with modern-day air travel–from inexplicable delays to intrusive security measures to really, really bad food–I think the one that bothers me most is needing to turn off electronic devices during landing and takeoff. This was bad enough years ago, when the flashing of the “turn [...]

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Congress May Legislate to Allow iPad Use During Take-Off and Landing

Juli Monroe — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:16:30 +0000

Want to be able to use your iPad, Kindle, iPod or other electronic device during take-off and landing why flying? Write your congressperson and ask them to support upcoming legislation to change the rules. According to Politico, Sen. Claire McCaskill, Democrat from Missouri, said on Thursday that she would write legislation to allow passengers to use [...]

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Apple lawsuit wrap-up for February 2013

Erica Marceua — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 23:24:14 +0000

February 2013 had a cornucopia of Apple lawsuits in all parts of the world, from Australia to Texas to a woman in bed. ♦ The Australian government thinks Apple, Microsoft, and Adobe are charging too much for their products. Now they’ve been summoned to an Australian government inquiry and threatened with legal consequences if they don’t show up. [...]

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Irish Senator proposes “pay to post” Internet

Bill Stiteler — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:45:02 +0000

Using an iPhone in Ireland to connect to the Internet? Get your passport out. The legislature of Ireland, the Oireachtas Éireann, is exploring the topic of Internet safety and cyberbullying, and the possible need for legislation and regulation of online comments. It’s going about as well as you might imagine, with one senator, Eamonn Coghlan, suggesting that [...]

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White House Ready to Legalize Phone Unlocking

Stanley Goodner — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 03:12:25 +0000

The White House is supporting the consumers’ right to unlock their cellphones once they have fulfilled the terms of their contract. In response to a petition on WhiteHouse.gov, the executive branch has stated that “The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without [...]

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Class Action Lawsuit Against Amazon and Publishers Misses the Mark

Juli Monroe — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:52:27 +0000

According to the Huffington Post, three independent bookstores are filing a class action suit against Amazon and the “Big Six” publishers. Alyson Decker of Blecher & Collins PC, lead counsel acting for the bookstores, described DRM as “a problem that affects many independent bookstores.” She said the complaint is still in the process of being served [...]

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Is Amazon About to Break the Law?

Marilynn Byerly — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:04:07 +0000

Amazon has patented a means to sell used e-books within the Kindle system. A book will be branded within the system when it is bought, and when the buyer puts it up for resale at the Kindle store, it will be removed from his account and transferred to the buyer’s account. Amazon will receive a [...]

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Games Workshop, self-publishing author battle over ‘space marines’

Chris Meadows — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 18:19:43 +0000

Self-publishing has a lot of advantages and just as many countervailing drawbacks. The biggest advantage is, of course, you get to be your own boss and can publish whatever you want to, without some publisher taking a cut of the money. But the dark side of this freedom is that it can leave you vulnerable [...]

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