http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/copylaw/ A Publishers Marketplace Weblog en-us 2012-01-01T07:04:17+00:00 Publishers Marketplace Lloyd J. Jassin hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00:00+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/images/PM_rssimg.gif http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/ http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/copylaw/index.html#20120101020306 The picture of publishing economics has changed dramatically. Since the middle of 2011, Amazon is selling more eBooks than hardcover and paperback books combined. What this trend makes clear, is it is becoming increasingly difficult to publish a book profitably based solely on bound book sales. This article looks at HarperCollins' recently filed lawsuit against eBook publisher Open Road, and the role legacy publishing contracts, and contract ambiguity, plays in the battle over lucrative ... Lloyd J. Jassin 2012-01-01T07:03:06+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/copylaw/index.html#20111222230825 A Passing Opportunity to Recapture Publishing Rights The copyright termination time bomb is ticking away. Starting in 2011 the publishing and entertainment industries will be looking at the possibility thousands of negotiations with copyright owners seeking to recapture their rights. Some call it "contract bumping." This powerful "re-valuation mechanism" found in the Copyright Act allows authors (and their heirs) to terminate contracts 35-years after the contract date. The termination ... Lloyd J. Jassin 2011-12-23T04:08:25+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/copylaw/index.html#20111214065645 When Fiction & Reality Collide: A Q&A Q: My main character is loosely based on a real person. I mean, that's who inspired me. I never identify him by name (he's my ex-friend) and I've made up 90% of the events that happen in the book. I'm worried after the book becomes successful, that he'll come back and try to take a stake in the millions. What can I do to prevent this? - GWB A: So you ask, “How do you discourage a prototype from becoming a plaintiff?” A basic understanding of libel law ... Lloyd J. Jassin 2011-12-14T11:56:45+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/copylaw/index.html#20100703063915 Fox News Bashes Libraries File this under "Read and Weep." Anna Davlantes, a Fox Chicago News anchor, picked a fight with librarians and book lovers this week when she posted an editorial with the incendiary headline, "Are Libraries Necessary, or a Waste of Tax Money?" "With the internet and e-books, do we really need millions for libraries?" Ms. Davlantes wrote. "[S]hould these institutions -- that date back to 1900 B.C. -- be on the way out?" Yes, Ms. Davlantes. The libraries in ... Lloyd J. Jassin 2010-07-03T10:39:15+00:00 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/copylaw/index.html#20100616000642 Is it More Generous to Wait for Your Friends to Die Before Publishing an Autobiography? The Independent reports that the University of California, Berkeley, will release the first volume of Mark Twain's autobiography -- much of it previously unpublished. Clearly, Mark Twain could have said hundreds of unpleasant things in print about his contemporaries while he was alive, but he decided against it. Whether for the benefit of his children, or because he feared reproach (and libel ... Lloyd J. Jassin 2010-06-16T04:06:42+00:00