Publishers File Appeal Brief in Internet Archive Copyright Suit - Publishers Weekly

You'll save lawyer fees if you just accept the court decision.

Today, Panzer made a trip to the Publishers Weekly site. There with a little digging in the posts our intrepid kitty pilot found one about the Internet Archive (IA) case.

 

According to Jim Milliot's post, the publishers who won their copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive (IA) have filed a brief in response to IA's appeal to have the lawsuit decision overturned. Links to other posts about the case are included.

 

Panzer says, "IA is just trying to drag it out longer."

 

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea to drink while you read today.

 

To read the post tootle over to Internet Archive

Court Blocks Maryland's Library E-book Law - Publlishers Weekly

Today Panzer made a stop at the Publishers Weekly site. With hardly any digging at all in the posts there, our inquisitive kitty boy found one about Maryland's Library E-book law.

 

Interesting decision.

According to Andrew Albanese's post, a federal judge has ruled in favor of the Association of American Publishers' (AAP) argument that a new Maryland library e-book law infringes on U.S. copyright law. The judge granted an injunction stopping enforcement of the law. The law was passed by the Maryland General Assembly and scheduled to go into effect on January 1. It was written to help libraries be able to offer e-books to their patrons. The basic premise of the law was, if a publisher offered their e-books to customers in Maryland, the publishers would have to offer/license the e-book to libraries "on reasonable terms." The post includes links to other posts with additional information.

 

Panzer says, "This little kitty is confused. How does this infringe on copyright?"

 

Note: This is a long post. Bring a big cup of cocoa, a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit), and a muffin. If you plan to follow the links in the post, you'll need to decide what other refreshments to bring.

 

To read the post tootle over to Maryland's e-book law

Coronavirus Update: AAP StatShot Shows US Book Market in May - Publishing Perspectives

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging in the posts, our traveling kitty boy found one about book sales in May.

The post by Porter Anderson quotes extensively from the Association of American Publisher's (AAP) StatShot report. According to the StatShot report a comparison of May 2020 to May 2019 shows a 12.1 percent decline in retail bookstore sales. Not surprisingly, both audio and ebook increased in sales of 20 percent for audio books and 39.2 percent for ebooks. The post includes several charts and graphs showing hardback, paperback, ebook and audio book sales and comparisons for different time periods. Of note, is the fact book returns are down by 45.2 percent over the same time period last year. Bookstores can return the unsold books to the publishers. It's also not surprising, the returns are down as bookstores are closed and there's no one to package and return the books to the publishers. Once bookstores re-open the returns will begin.

It's not a surprise, human. They're closed.

Panzer says, "It doesn't surprise this little kitty that, if the bookstores are in lockdown, book sales are down."

Note: Because of all the charts and graphs, this is a huge post. Bring a thermos of tea and six muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to AAP StatShot

Publishers Charge the Internet Archive with Copyright Infringement - Publishers Weekly

Today Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to the Publishers Weekly site. With no digging at all our busy kitty boy found a post about the Internet Archive. Panzer has told you about the Internet Archive's practice of scanning books and making them available for free before.

Stealing is stealing.

According to Jim Milliot's post, four publishers have filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement against the Internet Archive (IA). The four publishers filing the lawsuit are Hachette Group, HarperCollins, John Wiley and Sons, and Penguin Random House. In the lawsuit the publishers assert that by copying the books without permission and without payment to the authors or publishers, IA is committing copyright infringement. The Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild have issued statements in support of the lawsuit.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty says it's about time somebody took this guy to court. It's not a library. It's a pirate site."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Internet Archive copyright infringement case
To read Panzer's previous post tootle over to Authors Guild 

Coronavirus Shutdowns Weigh on Book Sales - The New York Times

It doesn't make sense to me.

Panzer decided to make a stop at The New York Times site today. There he found an interesting post about book sales in the month of March.

The post by Alexandra Alter says, according to figures released by the Association of American Publishers (AAP), book sales were down 8 percent in March as compared to March of last year. Most of that loss was in educational books for children. Ebooks were down by 5 percent as well. In contrast however, audio books were up by 15 percent.

Panzer says, "Well, with schools closed educational book sales would be down, but I don't understand why ebooks sales were down."

Note: This is a long-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to book sales

Industry Resource Lists: Publishers' Response Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic - Publishing Perspectives

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the quiet of the Catosphere, he decided to make a stop at the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging in the posts he found one about publishers response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

There's no place to get away.

According to Porter Anderson's post, to address the impact of Covid-19 on the publishing and bookselling industries the Publishers Association (PA) of British publishers and the Association of American Publishers (AAP) of American publishers have stepped forward. Both organizations have created pages on their site making information available to and about publishers and booksellers. The Publishers Association page even lists agencies and locations where publishers, booksellers and individuals can access funding for businesses impacted by Covid-19. The Association of American Publishers page lists the help publishers are making available to schools, teachers and students impacted by Covid-19. The post includes links to both organizations' pages.

Panzer says, "That virus thingy is really causing trouble everywhere."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a thermos of tea and six muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to publishers resource pages

Settlement Terms Revealed (Mostly) in Audible Captions Litigation - Publishers Weekly

Only thing hidden is the money.

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he decided to make a quick stop at the Publishers Weekly site. He's really happy he did, because the big news is the settlement in the Audible Captions case.

According to Andrew Albanese, Judge Caproni has agreed to accept the lawsuit agreement between Audible and the seven original publishers and the Association of American Publishers (AAP). Judge Caproni wanted the two sides to agree on how much of the settlement would be unsealed. The unsealed portion of the document is how much the public gets to see. Now that the document is available, there doesn't appear to be anything in there which wasn't already known, except the amount Audible paid to the publishers and the AAP. There are several links included in the post.

Panzer says, "This little kitty was beginning to think the case would never be settled."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a cup of tea and three muffins for today's reading. If you plan to follow all the links, bring a thermos of tea and twelve muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Audible Captions

In Captions Settlement, Audible Will Not Use AAP Member Content Without Permission - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering outside the Panzermobile. Following all the hullabaloo took our inquisitive kitty to the Publishers Weekly site. With no digging at all he found the post about the Audible Captions lawsuit that was causing all the noise. Panzer has been telling you about this lawsuit since it started.

It had to end that way.

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, the lawsuit by the American Association (AAP) against Amazon's Audible's Captions feature has been settle. Audible has requested the settlement agreement be sealed by the court. This means nobody can see the settlement except Audible and the American Association of Publishers members involved in the lawsuit. However, the Publishers Weekly post contains information from the proposed permanent injunction filed with the court which isn't under seal. According to that information Audible won't be using their Captions feature on any AAP members material without the copyright holders permission. There are several links included in the post to other information and to previous posts about the lawsuits. One of the links goes to the proposed settlement from which the post gets some of its information.

Panzer says, "The Publishers Weekly post has some other interesting information toward the end too."

This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring a gallon of tea and eight muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to Audible

To read Panzer's last post about the lawsuit, tootle over to Captions

AAP: US Students Spending on College Materials Down 23 Percent in Fall Semester - Publishing Perspectives

With Mom cleaning the house for Christmas company, Panzer decided to clean the Panzermobile. While vacuuming the floor, he discovered a wadded up post under the pilot's seat. Smoothing it out our fastidious kitty discovered it was a post from the Publishing Perspectives site about college students textbook buying habits.

According to Porter Anderson's post at the Publishing Perspectives site, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) reports US college students are spending less on textbooks and course materials. Spending for the Fall 2019 semester is down 23 percent from last year. Although some students still buy new or used textbooks, others are renting their textbooks, or subscribing to digital textbooks (for an unlimited time or a limited time) and getting online homework answers. The last third of the post quotes extensively from college professor Tim Wu, who advocates for the use of textbooks from free sites.

Only five days until Christmas.

Panzer says, "Textbooks are so expensive how do publishers expect students to pay for them?"

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. Bring a pitcher of tea and three muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to US college students

US Publishers and Alliance Back Congressional Letter on Copyright Restatement - Publishing Perspectives

I need some dark and a nap.

We're all still recuperating from the Christmas light decorating party day before yesterday. We told you it's a neighborhood contest. What's His Name likes a contest and gets into the Christmas light contest every year. We have lights on the gutters on the roof, around the windows, the door, the fence, the bushes in the front yard, and along the driveway. (Don't worry they're all LED lights.)

With all those lights outside shining in the windows, Panzer can't get any sleep, so he only took a short trip into the Catosphere this afternoon to the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging in the posts, our sleepy kitty found one about the copyright restatement project.

According to the post by Porter Anderson, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) has joined the Copyright Alliance (CA) protesting the American Law Institute's (ALI) copyright restatement project. The "restatement" would be a rewording (rewriting) of the federal copyright law. Currently released information shows the ALI seems to support big corporations' interests instead of the creators of the material. Since copyright is a federal law, some members of Congress sent a letter to the ALI posing questions concerning the ALI's intentions.

Panzer says,"Who gave these humans the power to do that?"

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post.. Bring a gallon of cocoa and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Association of American Publishers

AAP StatShot for September: Modest Gains in the US Market - Publishing Perspectives

Mom still has turkey from Thanksgiving.

Panzer was cleaning out the console between the pilot's seat and the passenger seat in the Panzermobile, when he found a wadded up post in the cup holder. Flattening it out our fastidious kitty discovered it was a post from the Publishing Perspectives site about US book sales for the month of September and the whole year.

According to Porter Anderson's post, the Association of American Publishers (AAP) has released their StatShot report. According to the report, overall the U.S. book sales for the year are up 4 percent over last year. The rest of the post is divided into three sections comparing September sales of 2019 to 2018. The sections are US Trade Publishing, US Trade in Terms of Format, and Overall Publisher Revenue. The sections cover audiobooks, ebooks, and trade books (adult, YA, children etc.).

Panzer says, "Hmm ... The numbers show sales are up for the year and for the month of September. Interesting."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a quart of warm cocoa and a three muffins for this reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to AAP StatShot

Amazon's Audible Captions Feature New Developments - Various

Today, Panzer's afternoon nap was disrupted when he was shaken from his kitty bed and onto the floor. Jumping into the Panzermobile, our brave kitty discovered the Catosphere was full of news about Amazon's Audible Captions feature.

My work for you is never done.

First he traveled to the Publishing Perspectives site where he discovered a post by Porter Anderson. According to the post, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) has added their support to the Association of American Publishers' (AAP) lawsuit against the Audible Captions feature for copyright infringement. Twenty-seven member publishers of the IBPA in a letter to Audible have asked to not be included in the feature until the court decision is rendered. Panzer has been posting about the Captions feature for a few weeks now.

Next he traveled to the Publishers Weekly site where he discovered a post by Andrew Albanese. According to this post, Audible will not be rolling out the full Captions feature until after the court's decision. The company will instead roll out a version with only public domain material included. Public domain material is not copyright protected and can be used by anyone.

Panzer says, "Both these posts cover the same material but from slightly different angles."

Note: The first post is a long length and the second is a long-medium length. Bring two thermoses of tea and a dozen muffins for today's reading selections.

To read the Publishing Perspectives post tootle over to Audible Captions

To read the Publishers Weekly post tootle over to Captions roll out

To read Panzer's other post about Audible Captions tootle over to Captions

US Publishers Slam 'CDL' as 'Systematic Ingringement' as UK Authors Write to Foundations - Publishing Perspectives

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was shaken and buffeted by the roar of crying and screaming. Following all the ruckus took our brave kitty to the Publishing Perspectives site. With a little digging he discovered all the noise was caused by a post about the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Internet Archive's 'Open Library'. Panzer has been posting about the Internet Archive's copyright infringement practices for weeks now.

According to the post by Porter Anderson, the Association of American Publishers has joined the various writers' organizations and individual authors in the condemnation of the Internet Archive's 'Open Library's' continued copyright infringement practices. In addition, the UK's Society of Authors is encouraging it's members to write letters to the foundations supplying funds to the Internet Archive and complain about the illegal practice. The post lists the Association of American Publishers, the UK's Society of Authors, the US's Authors Guild, Writers Union of Canada, and the Australian Society of Authors as groups protesting the Internet Archive's copyright infringement practice. The post includes links to the different organizations' sites for more information about their protest efforts.

Why do humans think it's okay to steal?

Panzer says, "If enough groups and authors protest against this copyright infringement practice, maybe we can all stop the Internet Archive."

Note: This is a humongous giant post. Bring a gallon of tea and one and a half dozen muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow all of the links included in the post, also bring a gallon of cocoa and another dozen muffins and a sleeping bag for a nap too.

To read the post tootle over to Association of American Publishers

To read Panzer's post about the Association of Publishers Press Release (go to the top of the page when you get there) tootle over to AAP Press Release

To read Panzer's post about the Writers' Union of Canada (go to the top of the page when you get there) tootle over to Writers Union of Canada

To read Panzer's post about the Authors Guild and the Society of Authors (go to the top of the page when you get there) tootle over to Authors Guild and Society of Authors

E-book Sales Up in May, for First Time in in (suc) Two Years - Publishers Weekly

I'm feeling better.

Panzer is feeling a little better today. He decided to do some cleaning in the Panzermobile. Our recovering kitty boy found a wadded up post under the passenger seat. Smoothing out the post he discovered it was from last week's trip to the Publishers Weekly site and is about ebook sales in May.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, the trade publishers group Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced in a press release that for the first time in two years ebook sales showed an increase. The 2.4 increase was for the sales in May 2017 over May 2016. The AAP based the increased sales figures on information provided by the 1,204 reporting publisher members for the Statshot program.

Panzer says, "Umm ... It's only one month. Let's wait for June before you start celebrating."

Note: This is a shortish post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to e-book sales