Back after a (too) long hiatus

Wow, that was a much longer hiatus than I had ever wanted. Many apologies to those who've been checking back during the absence, many thanks for coming back now.

I'm going to start posting again, and also start working up a book that could both double as a textbook for my course (Entertainment Law at the University of Washington) and also serve a more general audience. Thoughts, input, topics you'd like to see, things you don't care about etc. requested and welcomed!

In its response to the Plaintiffs' amended complaint, Harlequin has nothing new to say

I've had a copy of the Harlequin response to the Plaintiffs' amended complaint in their motion for a class action in the e-books litigation, and I haven't been able to motivate myself to write about it for one simple reason: they had nothing new to say.

I've only found one item that even bears mentioning, and even that one can be dealt with quickly.

Two reasons museums charge for reproductions (and one consequence)

By way of The Digital Reader, I've just read an interesting article that I think misses a very important point. That point leads to two of the bigger and related themes I'll be exploring here in 2013, as well as one of their consequences.

The article, linked below, laments that many famous works of art aren't available in high-res and so they can't be used in teaching. It sets forth the reason for this as being because museums are overreaching, using their legal rights of control over the environment where these works are stored, or the license terms of their own photos and the websites where they are displayed, as a way to stop otherwise-permitted reproductions of works that would be in the public domain. (I'm oversimplifying but I don't think I'm changing the thrust of the piece; read it and make your own decisions.)

Yes, if it wasn't for copyright and the control it gives over images and reproductions the museums wouldn't be able to stop this kind of thing. But that's putting the cart before the horse.

Harlequin plaintiffs bring new allegations, improve their case

[NOTE TO READERS: It's been a while since I've posted. Thanks for coming back.]

On November 2, 2012, the authors(*) in the Harlequin class action upped their game against Harlequin. If they're wrong, they will lose their class certification request. But if they win, they will find themselves making a point that will have repercussions far beyond just e-publishing and authors.

A bunch of travel recently

I've been on the road but have some interesting topics. Hang tight...

How does the HathiTrust book-scanning judgment affect e-books and audiobooks?

Scanning copyrighted works and making them searchable on the Internet sounds to many authors like it shouldn't be legal. But on October 10, a Federal Court in New York released a judgment holding that may be. That judgment raises significant issues for authors, publishers, and consumers, giving new scope to fair use of copyrighted materials in the USA.

"Is this the worst paragraph in your publishing agreement?"

The Passive Voice, a blog I follow that has tons of information for authors, has a really important post today entitled "Is this the worst paragraph in your publishing agreement?"

The advice in here is good for not just authors. App developers and film/TV producers should know about it too.