intellectual property

Wednesday news: Does McNally Jackson’s Good’s store represent a way forward for B&N?; White House backs phone unlocking; Amazon patents breathing

Wednesday news: Does McNally Jackson’s Good’s store represent a way forward for B&N?; White House backs phone unlocking; Amazon patents breathing

McNally Jackson to Open Store with Objects for Home Office – Is this the way forward for Barnes & Noble. McNally Jackson is a famous independent bookstore in New York City and it will soon be opening McNally Jackson Store: Goods for the Study. Sounds like Levenger on steroids. (I love Levenger) Instead she is(…)

Thursday News: Amazon awarded digital resale marketplace patent; Baldur Bjarnason argues ebooks are services; Monopoly adopts a cat

Thursday News: Amazon awarded digital resale marketplace patent; Baldur Bjarnason argues ebooks are services; Monopoly adopts a cat

Amazon patents resale marketplace for used e-books, songs and other digital goods – ReDigi set up a secondary marketplace for digital music. Capital Records, amongst others, have sued ReDigi for copyright infringement. Both parties made arguments to the court which will largely dispose of the case back in October. As of yesterday, no decision has(…)

Friday News: Random House launches three digital only imprints; Trademark rejected; First sale case criticized by Colbert; Somewhat increase protection for emails introduced

Friday News: Random House launches three digital only imprints; Trademark rejected; First sale case criticized by Colbert; Somewhat increase protection for emails introduced

Judge, Jury & Executioner – Copyright Law – The Colbert Report – 2012-26-11 – Video Clip – Stephen Colbert took on the Kirtsaeng case which may have far reaching affects on the right of first sale for consumers. The question for the Supreme Court in the Kirtsaeng case is whether a product sold overseas, purchased(…)

Monday News: Cheaters prospering; Backlist sales declining; Online dictionaries more of a hinderance;

Monday News: Cheaters prospering; Backlist sales declining; Online dictionaries more of a hinderance;

Book Reviewers for Hire Meet a Demand for Online Raves – NYTimes.com – This NYTimes article simply confirms what we know is true. Buying reviews is worthwhile for authors. It’s not ethical, but it works. Jason Rutherford set up a business to sell reviews. At one point he was making $28,000 a month.  He would(…)

Friday (anemic) Midday Links: Class is certified in action against Google

Friday (anemic) Midday Links: Class is certified in action against Google

My roundup today is anemic in part because the news is slow right now (which is a good thing) but also because I’ve been spending many a late night working on this new fangled thing: http://releases.dearauthor.com/ NY judge grants class status in Google book fight – BusinessWeek – “A federal judge granted class certification to(…)

Reclaiming Your Copyright After Thirty-Five Years

Introduction This is a long article. Grab a cup of coffee and settle in.   I wrote this article and sent it to the RWR but it wasn’t suited for publication so I thought I would share it with you.   The right to sever a copyright grant after 35 years came to my attention when Evan(…)

Wednesday Midday Links & Deals: Kobo Has Deep Pockets Too, Nora Roberts Publishes 200th Novel

Wednesday Midday Links & Deals: Kobo Has Deep Pockets Too, Nora Roberts Publishes 200th Novel

Kobo reveals big plans | The Bookseller – Kobo is doing very well overseas, outselling Amazon two to one in France. Now that it has been bought out by Rakuten, its pockets are deep. I would love it if Kobo would use some of that money to provide decent customer service. The Bookseller “Kobo previously(…)

Tuesday News: Women Writers Get Ignored; SMP’s Homage to the Brady Bunch, Random House Triples Cost to Libraries

Tuesday News: Women Writers Get Ignored; SMP’s Homage to the Brady Bunch, Random House Triples Cost to Libraries

News There are a series of charts being passed around showing the sad gender divide between female and male journalists and female and male writers and what is being covered in the mainstream press. The gender divide isn’t really improving year over year. Random House is one of the two big six publishers still partnering(…)

GUEST REVIEW: Fault Line by Barry Eisler

GUEST REVIEW: Fault Line by Barry Eisler

Dear Mr. Eisler: Fault Line was the first book of yours that I’d read. I’ve since read more, by the way. In the past, I have worked at Intellectual Property law firms as well as in the legal department of a Bio-Tech firm, so I am intimate with the portion of Fault Line that deals(…)

Copyright and Consumer Digital Rights, Part 2

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,(…)

Authors Guild Continues Overreaching. Claims Olfactory Rights Belong to Author

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(…)

Copyright: It’s not just for authors (Part 1 of 2 or 3 parts)

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(…)