Library Stuff

“The American Booksellers Association, which represents U.S. independent bookstores, has objected to the U.S. government’s proposed settlement of its price-fixing lawsuit against top publishers, saying it would strengthen Amazon.com Inc’s dominance. The association, in a letter to the U.S. Justice Department dated June 14, said the settlement would create “a significant danger that Amazon will again regain a monopoly share in the sale of e-books.”

via Reuters

“The Internet Archive has filed a federal challenge to a new Washington State law that intends to make online service providers criminally liable for providing access to third parties offensive materials.The Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF is representing the Internet Archive in order to block the enforcement of SB 6251, a law aimed at combatting advertisements for underage sex workers but with vague and overbroad language that is squarely in conflict with federal law. Procedurally, the Internet Archive lawsuit was filed as an intervention into a similar suit, Backpage.com v. McKenna, filed last week.”

via Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“Google Inc. (GOOG), owner of the world’s largest search engine, ended legal disputes with a French publishing trade group and a French authors’ association over the U.S. company’s scanning of books. The Syndicat National de l’Edition, which represents more than 600 publishers, and the SGDL Society of Authors agreed with Google to end litigation over Google’s scanning of copyright- protected books without permission, according to two statements today. This means Google no longer faces French legal action over book scanning, according to Bill Echikson, a spokesman for the Mountain View, California-based company.”

via Bloomberg

Reuters – “Thousands of authors can sue Google Inc in a class-action lawsuit over its plan to create the world’s largest digital book library, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.

U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan also rejected Google’s bid to dismiss claims by The Authors Guild and several groups representing photographers and graphic artists, which would have forced their members to sue individually. Plaintiffs in the seven-year-old case have complained that Google’s plan for the library, which would include millions of out-of-print works, amounted to “massive copyright infringement.”

Reuters – “Apple Inc is rejecting charges that it conspired to fix prices of electronic books, calling the U.S. government’s antitrust lawsuit a “fundamentally flawed” endeavor that could discourage competition and harm consumers. In a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan late Tuesday, Apple said it has not conspired with anyone or fixed prices for e-books in an effort to thwart Amazon.com Inc’s dominance of that fast-growing market.”

Associated Press – “Google Inc. urged a judge Thursday to toss The Authors Guild and an organization representing photographers out of 6-year-old litigation over the future of the world’s largest digital library, a move that would force authors and photographers to individually fight the online search engine giant. Google attorney Daralyn Durie told Judge Denny Chin in federal court in Manhattan that authors and photographers would be better off fending for themselves because their circumstances varied so widely.”

Reuters – “Apple Inc has rejected the U.S. Justice Department’s allegations that it colluded with publishers over electronic book pricing, calling the charges “simply not true.” The U.S. government had sued Apple and five publishers, saying they conspired to fix the prices of electronic books. It has reached a settlement with three of the publishers that could lead to cheaper e-books for consumers. In an email to Reuters, Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr confirmed the company’s position, which earlier appeared in a Wall Street Journal article.”

Courthouse News Service – “Three library patrons who claimed their rural library’s Internet filter prevented them from researching issues such as teen smoking and gun rights lost their challenge to the library district, when a federal judge found the Internet policy did not violate the First Amendment. The ACLU represented three rural Washingtonians in a 2006 federal lawsuit that claimed the North Central Regional Library District unconstitutionally blocked access to certain websites with a systemwide Internet filter.”

Bloomberg – “The U.S. sued Apple Inc. AAPL, Hachette SA, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster in New York district court, claiming the publishers colluded to fix eBook prices.CBS Corp. CBS’s Simon & Schuster, Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Book Group and News Corp. NWSA’s HarperCollins settled their suits today, two people familiar with the matter said. Apple and Macmillan, which have refused to engage in settlement talks with the Justice Department, deny they colluded to raise prices for digital books, according to people familiar with the matter. They will argue that pricing agreements between Apple and publishers enhanced competition in the e-book industry, which was dominated by Amazon.com Inc. AMZN”

Bloomberg – “Apple Inc. and the publisher Macmillan are preparing to be sued as soon as today by the U.S. Justice Department over alleged collusion in the pricing of e- books, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Apple and Macmillan, which have refused to engage in settlement talks with the Justice Department, deny they colluded to raise prices for digital books, the people said. In an antitrust case, they will argue that pricing agreements between Apple and publishers enhanced competition in the e-book industry, which was dominated by Amazon.com Inc.”