WGBH: Inside The E-Book ‘War’ Waging Between Libraries And Publishers. “According to the American Library Association (ALA), about one fifth of the books sold in the U.S. are eBooks. Some publishers are worried that the ease of borrowing a digital book from a library is hurting sales and have decided to limit how and when libraries can access digital books. Now, libraries in Massachusetts and nationwide are vowing to fight back. They say the practices are not just unfair and unethical, but they might be illegal.”
publishers
Publishers Weekly: Educational Publishers File Suit to Block Sale of Pirated E-books
Publishers Weekly: Educational Publishers File Suit to Block Sale of Pirated E-books. “According to the lawsuit filed in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the pirate sites are selling unlicensed e-books using Google ads which they place in response to searches for the publishers’ legitimate content. While the lawsuit proceeds, the publishers, through the Educational Publishers Enforcement Group which brought the action, were granted a temporary restraining order that calls for the immediate shut down of the illegal activity on these sites, as well as the cessation of the services that support the sites.”
“We’re wounded animals and wondering if they’re going to shoot us”: Publishers have, um, cooled on partnerships with platforms (Nieman Journalism Lab)
Nieman Journalism Lab: “We’re wounded animals and wondering if they’re going to shoot us”: Publishers have, um, cooled on partnerships with platforms. “The era when publishers could be just mildly skeptical of platforms while continuing to work with them enthusiastically appears to be over. Bring on the ‘just kill me now’ analogies — and a shift to, um, unenthusiastic partnerships.”
The Bull: French media launch copyright case against Google
The Bull: French media launch copyright case against Google. “French media organisations lodged a complaint against Google to the country’s competition authority Wednesday over the US internet giant’s refusal to pay for displaying their content. The move sets up a legal fight with Google over a new EU copyright law that could have huge repercussions for the future of the press.”
Techdirt: Giant Publisher Macmillan Goes To War Against Libraries
Techdirt: Giant Publisher Macmillan Goes To War Against Libraries. “f you’re not already aware, most libraries offer ebook lending — which gives borrowers temporary access to an ebook, just like borrowing a hard copy library book. I use this all the time to borrow ebooks from my local library (which has also resulted in my buying permanent copies of many of those books). However, Macmillan has decided to crack down on the practice. “
New York Times: Facebook’s New Role as News Publisher Brings New Scrutiny
New York Times: Facebook’s New Role as News Publisher Brings New Scrutiny. “A little more than two weeks after Facebook announced a news initiative, the social network was on the defensive, responding to a published report that a website co-founded by the company’s top news executive had displayed bias against Elizabeth Warren.”
Publishers Weekly: Congress Looking into Anticompetitive Behavior in the Digital Library Market
Publishers Weekly: Congress Looking into Anticompetitive Behavior in the Digital Library Market. “The American Library Association (ALA) has delivered a written report to the House Judiciary Committee telling lawmakers that ‘unfair behavior by digital market actors,’ including Amazon and some major publishers, is ‘doing concrete harm to libraries.’ The report, delivered last week to a House antitrust subcommittee investigating competition in the digital market, comes as lawmakers are taking note of the growing backlash to Big Five publisher Macmillan’s decision to impose a two-month embargo on new release e-books in public libraries.”
