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Copyright
Google Says Book Search is Fair Use
After nearly seven years of public wrangling, it’s finally here: Google’s long anticipated, full-throated fair use defense for its library scanning program.
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The Tools of Change PerspectivePutting a Price on Value: The ToC Perspective
As the downward pressure on e-book prices continues to increase, publishers should pause long enough to realize that there is no need to have a race to the bottom, to the free e-book. Publishers themselves really are the ones to blame for the emerging pricing situation, as they continue to treat e-books like digital replicas of print books, doing quick text-to-digital conversions, which typically don’t even offer the same capabilities as the print versions—try sharing your latest great e-book with a friend. It’s no wonder the consumer value perception of e-books is in question.
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Retailing
ReDigi Plans to Sell Used E-books
For serial entrepreneur John Ossenmacher, cofounder, president, and CEO of ReDigi, which bills itself as “the world’s first pre-owned digital marketplace,” the copyright infringement case filed by Capitol Records in U.S. District Court in Manhattan at the start of the year to shut it down is only a “hiccup in the road.” ReDigi, which launched its Web site (redigi.com) with used digital music late last year, is poised to start reselling e-books once the case is resolved.
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Content / e-books
Penguin Lodges Appeal in E-Book Consumer Case
Lawyers for Penguin yesterday filed a petition with U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals challenging district Judge Denise Cote's June 27 decision denying the publisher's motion to compel arbitration for Amazon and Barnes & Noble e-book customers in the consumer class action case derived from an alleged e-book price-fixing scheme.
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Financial Reporting
Oxford University Press Posts Strong Results
It may still be a tough economy, but in its annual report released this week Oxford University Press posted strong growth. Globally, OUP saw a 10% growth in sales, with revenue of £695 million—that’s over $1 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31.
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Copyright
Plot Thickens as Authors Guild, HathiTrust Submit Opposition Filings
Complex copyright law and fair use issues may lie at the heart of the Authors Guild vs. Hathitrust case, but in opposition filings submitted by the parties last week, another institution also seems to be on trial: Congress.
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Copyright
Library Groups, EFF Hit Back in HathiTrust Case
In its initial complaint last year, the Authors Guild accused the HathiTrust of “ignoring the interests of copyright owners” and failing to allow Congress to “determine the requirements and safeguards that will govern the use of digital libraries.”
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Trade Shows
Milan's If Book Then Summer Edition Conference Tracks the Digital Transformation
At the excellent one-day summit If Book Then: Summer Edition, over 80 leading publishers had a very good excuse to find themselves inside the beautiful Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
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Content / e-books
OverDrive Establishes Australian Office
OverDrive this week announced the opening of a new office in Melbourne, Australia, in an effort to expand its presence in Australia, New Zealand and throughout the Asia Pacific region. The expansion comes after the acquisition of Booki.sh, the Australian e-book company, in March.
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Copyright
HathiTrust, Authors Guild File Motions in Digitization Battle
On June 29, the parties in the Authors Guild vs. HathiTrust filed motions for summary judgment, with the Authors Guild asserting that it should win because the library defendants have no viable defense.
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Copyright
In Supreme Court Filing, Libraries Say Decision in Wiley Suit Threatens Lending Rights
It is libraries’ inability to acquire and lend e-books that has grabbed the headlines, but according to an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court on July 3, libraries’ ability to lend print books is also under threat.
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Shows & Events
ALA Report 2012
It was an upbeat annual conference for the American Library Association in Anaheim, Calif., highlighted by the awarding of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, the ALA’s first-ever book award for adult fiction and nonfiction. But with the release of a new Pew report and a pilot project announced by Penguin, the issue of library e-book lending loomed large over the meeting.
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Conferences
ALA 2012 Attendance Roughly Flat with 2011
It was an upbeat annual conference for the American Library Association in Anaheim, and ALA officials reported that 20,134 attended the 2012 meeting in Anaheim, roughly flat with the 20,125 at the 2011 show.
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Awards & Prizes
ALA Hands Out First Adult Prizes to Massie, Enright
At its annual convention being held in Anaheim, the American Library Association awarded its first-ever Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction to Irish novelist Anne Enright for her book The Forgotten Waltz (W.W. Norton). Robert K. Massie, meanwhile, took home top honors for nonfiction for Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (Random House).
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Copyright
What’s the Impact of the GSU E-Reserve Decision? ALA Panel Says None...Yet
At a copyright panel at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Duke University scholarly communications officer Kevin Smith said the true impact of the decision in the Georgia State e-reserves case will start to become clear when Judge Evans issues her final order for relief, and after that, what might happen on appeal.
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Conferences
Author Rebecca MacKinnon Kicks Off ALA With Talk On Digital Privacy
Issues with e-book lending may loom large over the 2012 American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA, but Rebecca Mackinnon’s opening keynote focused on another aspect of the digital revolution important to librarians: privacy.
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Content / e-books
As ALA Opens, Pew Issues Report On Libraries and E-Books
The good news, according to a report issued today by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, is that 69% of adults say libraries are important to them and their families. The not-so-good news: surprisingly few library patrons are aware of their library's e-book offerings.
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Copyright
Authors Guild vs. Google Trial Schedule Delayed a Month
Judge Denny Chin yesterday issued a scheduling order in the Authors Guild v. Google case delaying the proceedings by a month, with motions for summary judgment now to be filed on July 27.
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Copyright
Google Appeal May Not Delay Trial
While Google's appeal in the Authors Guild suit could lead to a stay while the appeals process plays out, that isn’t automatic.
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Nancy Pearl
Check it Out with Nancy Pearl: Bears!
Nancy Pearl has some tips for librarians who want to be part of the Nancy Pearl army, helping to get books into readers' hands.
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