Sep 8 2009
Did you have a nice vacation? I was almost completely untethered these past four days which was great while I was away. Unfortunately, the inbox doesn’t clear itself. Here is a piece of news that I missed. According to a mobileread.com poster, Sony will replace all the LRX format books (books you bought at Sony(…)
Jul 12 2009
Introduction In 2003 Google announced it had begun scanning books. Its goal was to create a digital library of every piece of printed work that has been put in fixed form. It was, and still is, a noble goal. Google placed these scanned books in a database and made them searchable. On the side of(…)
Jun 4 2009
An anonymous author, JD California, sold his manuscript to Nicotext, a Swedish publisher who owns UK-based Windupbird Publishing. 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye is billed as an unauthorized sequel to “Catcher in the Rye.” It’s written in the same style and features the same main character: Holden Caulfield. JD Salinger has not published(…)
May 24 2009
At the suggestion of Peter Brantley of the Internet Archive, I offer up this Frequently Asked Questions for Authors regarding the Text To Speech (TTS) functionality that is the subject of debate. This may be an evolving document as more people provide input so that it adeqately addresses the issues. Please feel free to offer(…)
May 10 2009
Sunday Pop Quiz How many books are currently in the public domain and available online? About 10,000 About 50,000 100,000 + Another easy one? The answer is C, at least according to Project Gutenberg, where you can access more than 100,000 books between PG and its various partners and affiliates. I don’t know about you,(…)
Apr 19 2009
UPDATE: Most people think this is a hoax/rumor. And at the Twilight Lexicon, they have a statement from Summit Entertainment: ““This rumor is certainly NOT true. Please let your readers know." Heidi Stanton, a former college roommate of Stephenie Meyer, claims that Twilight and its progeny may be plagiarised from a short story that Stanton(…)
Apr 1 2009
Authors Guild is determined to further alienate ebook readers with its latest cease and desist order. There is a new startup company called DuroSport that is hawking a “Smell of Book” product. I suppose it is to address those who fetishize the smell of books and can’t give up paper books for digital copies because(…)
Mar 22 2009
This isn’t a formal poll, but rather a copyright pop quiz. But don’t worry, it only has one question. And no penalty for the wrong answer. Plus it’s multiple choice. Who said the following: Most artists, if pressed, will admit that the true mother of invention in the arts is not necessity, but theft. And(…)
Mar 18 2009
Last week, Amazon sent a DMCA takedown notice to MobileRead requiring MobileRead to stop hosting, or even linking to, a kindle script that allowed users to buy mobipocket books at other retailers and load those mobipocket books onto the Kindle. The unique thing about the kindle script was that it did not remove any DRM,(…)
Feb 17 2009
Authors’ Guild is peeved about Kindle’s Text to Speech function and the Federation of the Blind is pushing back. "The National Federation of the Blind supports all technologies that allow blind people to have better access to the printed word, including the ability of devices like the Kindle 2 to read commercial e-books aloud using(…)
Feb 12 2009
AuthorsGuild , an organization designed to promote the best interests of authors, are upset because the text to speech function offered by the Kindle 2.0 may infringe on the author’s derivative right to audio performances. “They don’t have the right to read a book out loud,” said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild. “That’s(…)
Feb 11 2009
HarperCollins reorganized and announced some layoffs. First, the Collins imprint lavishly launched just three months ago got the ax. The entire imprint is being swallowed into HarperCollins with the president and publisher being let go. Bowen Press, YA imprint started in 2007 and set to launch this spring, is also shuttered. All Bowen titles will(…)
Jan 22 2009
First, a mini lesson in copyright and distribution. When authors sell the distribution rights to their book, they are actually selling the right to print, publicize, and sometimes digitally distribute the work in certain geographical territories. The author (via her agent usually) sells the right to publish the work in specific formats; sometimes one publisher(…)
Dec 23 2008
Built into the Copyright Act of 1976, the Copyright Act, is the right of First Sale. First Sale powers eBay, Craigslist, used bookstores and garage/flea market sales all over the country. Essentially the right of First Sale says that if you bought something, you can do what you want with that item, even resell it!!! and(…)
Oct 25 2008
While most of the literati seem firmly in Obama’s camp, the AAP sent out a warning about what an Obama presidency could mean for publishing (bad, in other words). AP is concerned, for example, that based on their past academic relationship, Senator Obama might choose among his appointments a divisive figure such as Larry Lessig(…)
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