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Classic Travel Books |
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The Classic “John Murray” Travel Collection
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Publishers face authors in latest digital-rights fightBy Janet Kornblum USA Today, July 2001 The music industry has been brawling for months over who owns the rights to digital tunes. Now it’s the book industry’s turn. Today in New York, Random House will face e-book publisher RosettaBooks in a legal battle that pits publishers against authors. At stake are the rights to publish older books in electronic format – and the legal standing of the nascent e-book industry. On Feb. 27, a day after RosettaBooks went live selling 50 titles for download, Random House sued Rosetta over the rights to eight books by William Styron, Kurt Vonnegut and Robert Parker. Random House maintains that it owns the electronic rights to books it published before e-books ever existed. “We believe reading an e-book on a screen is no different an experience than reading it on a printed page,” says Random House spokesman Stuart Applebaum. But RosettaBooks maintains it legally obtained the rights directly from the authors or their representatives, and that those rights are the authors’ to sell or sign away (most contracts today explicitly address electronic rights). “The general rule is, if it’s in the contract, it’s itemized,” says RosettaBooks CEO Arthur Klebanoff. “If it’s not in the contract, it belongs to the author. End of story.” Though only a few authors are named in the suit, the ruling could affect the rights to thousands of other titles. Both sides have powerful allies. Publishers including Penguin Putnam, Simon & Schuster and Time Warner are supporting Random House. RosettaBooks have been joined by the 7,800-member Authors Guild and the Association of Authors’ Representatives, with more than 350 literary agencies. Random House is asking a federal judge for a preliminary injunction. A ruling is not expected today. For more information about this case, please click here: http://www.rosettabooks.com/pages/legal.html |
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