Leave Penguin Alone

A bit buried in last week’s iPad 3 excitement was the news that Apple, along with five major American book publishers, was given notice by the Justice Department that it’s about to be sued for colluding to raise prices. A tech giant can afford to shrug off something as petty as an anti-trust lawsuit over books, but for HarperCollins, Penguin, MacMillan, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster (full disclosure: my publisher) the implications are potentially quite dire. Scott Turow, president of the Authors Guild, went further and argued that “everyone who cherishes a rich literary culture” should be alarmed by the DOJ’s actions. He’s wrong. If there’s a case against the government’s actions it’s that the forces of disruption buffeting traditional publishing are much too large to be blocked by any cartel. The good news is that literary culture should survive either way. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2012-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Leave Penguin Alone"


Authors Guild Responds to Second Circuit Ruling

The Authors Guild released a statement in response to the Second Circuit's affirmation of Judge Harold Baer's October 2012 decision in the Authors Guild v. HathiTrust. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Authors Guild Issues Call to MacAdam Cage Authors

The Authors Guild is offering legal assistance to any MacAdam Cage author who wishes to mount a legal challenge to the agreement giving control of their ebook rights to MP Publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Authors Guild's Constantine Testifies

In testimony delivered before a House subcommittee, AG counsel Jan Constantine recapped the AG’s long running copyright dispute with Google and offered one possible solution—a collective licensing agreement for digital presentation rights to out-of-print books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-04-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Google Win Expands Fair Use

After eight years of litigation—three of which had all parties stumping together for an ill-fated, controversial settlement—Judge Denny Chin last week dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Authors Guild over Google’s mass scanning of library books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Judge rules Google's scanning of books is not illegal

There is nothing wrong with Google scanning millions of book and making that text available as snippets in search results. This is the ruling made today by a judge in New York, bringing to an end an eight year legal battle between Google and The Authors Guild in conjunction with several specific... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tech Firms Rally, Expecting Justice Department to Oppose Transparency Requests

Apple, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter, Yahoo and other tech companies today sent a letter to the heads of the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees in support of proposed legislation that would allow them to publish statistics about secret national security... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Apple ebooks judge to limit antitrust remedies

The federal judge who last month found Apple Inc. liable for fixing ebook prices said she plans to limit the remedies sought by the U.S. to ensure they "rest as lightly as possible" on the way the company does business.U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan Tuesday said she intends to... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


DOJ offers to cut injunction time in Apple ebook case, stays firm on key points

The US Justice Department was insistent that its proposed injunction against Apple for alleged ebook price fixing was the proper remedy earlier this month, but it's now willing to budge on that somewhat. As Reuters reports, the DOJ has offered to cut the length of the injunction from ten to five... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Damages in Apple E-Book Case to Be Decided in May

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, the jurist who ruled last month that Apple illegally conspired with five major publishers to raise prices of ebooks, has set a date for the trial that will determine the damages Apple owes. In an order issued this week, Cote said that barring some earlier... Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Judge denies Apple's request to suspend ebook antitrust ruling

Apple, in its ongoing battle over an ebook price fixing scandal, has been dealt yet another setback. Last month, Judge Denise Cote ruled that Apple had violated antitrust laws in conspiring with publishers to raise ebook prices. Cupertino asked for a temporary suspension of her ruling while it... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2013-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Publishers object to U.S. punishment for Apple

Publishers who have settled an electronic book pricing dispute with the federal government say they object to penalties the government wants to impose on Apple Inc.A judge ruled in an antitrust case last month that Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple had joined a conspiracy to drive up the price of... Continue reading at Crains New York

[ Crains New York | 2013-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Publishers Object to E-Book Plan for Apple

Five major U.S. publishers objected to the Justice Department's proposal to limit Apple's influence in the electronic books market, saying it would effectively alter their existing settlements with the U.S. government. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2013-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Feds, states want Apple to revamp ebook practices

The Justice Department and 33 state attorneys general want to force Apple to sign contracts with publishers that don't prevent Apple or other ebook stores from competing on price.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Judge rules against Apple in ebook case

With its reputation on the line, Apple vows to appeal the federal judge's ruling that it conspired with publishers to raise prices.SAN FRANCISCO — A New York federal judge's ruling that Apple Inc. conspired to raise electronic book prices cuts straight to the heart of the company's image as a... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Apple led conspiracy to raise prices of ebooks, federal judge rules

NEW YORK -- Apple Inc. conspired to raise the prices of ebooks, a judge ruled Wednesday morning, after a trial in which the Department of Justice accused the technology giant of aggressively pressuring publishers to raise prices and weaken Amazon.com.     Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Judge Finds Apple Guilty of E-Book Conspiracy

A federal judge ruled today that Apple Inc. conspired to raise prices on ebooks, ordering a trial to decide what damages that the tech giant should pay.In a 159-page decision, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote ruled that Apple conspired with a group of five publishers, starting in 2009, to... Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2013-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Apple e-mails are at the center of the DOJ ebook price-fixing trial

The Justice Department’s ebook price fixing trial – alleging that Apple conspired to raise ebook prices – is scheduled to end this week. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Apple ebook price-fixing trial about to get underway

The Justice Department will lay out in a civil antitrust trial its accusations that Apple masterminded a cartel with publishers to raise ebook prices.For a company that beat down prices of online music, Apple Inc. finds itself in the odd situation of defending itself against government claims... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Seeing Through Digital Eyes At The Biggest Book Expo In The Country

Book Expo America, BEA, used to be the place to go to get your hands dirty with printer's ink--all the books were hot off the presses. Now the annual industry gathering at New York City's Javitz Center has been increasingly invaded by geeks. I'm one of these geeks, despite the fact that I've... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2013-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this