Web Development

December marked the opening of the third round of the triennial rule-making process mandated by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The DMCA was established in 1998 to encourage investment in new means of digital distribution of software, movies, books, sound recordings, video games and other works protected by copyright. The rule-making process is a period where copyright industry groups can review and respond to proposals for temporary exemptions from the provision of the DMCA, which prohibits the circumvention of technologies used to control access to copyrighted materials. The industry groups are comprised of the Association of American Publishers, the Business Software Alliance, the

New York -- HarperCollins Publishers plans to create a digital warehouse for all of its content and will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) this month as part of an effort to develop the necessary technical infrastructure to broadly exploit its content digitally. The plan is the first step in satisfying the demands of the marketplace, which is increasingly requiring that content be made available online and in numerous formats, while allowing the publisher to remain in control of its digital files and intellectual property. "In keeping with our commitment to be a 21st century publisher, our content needs to be

Amazon plans to launch two services aimed at promoting the sale and use of e-books. Amazon Pages gives readers the ability to purchase a few pages or entire chapters of a given title in e-book format, while Amazon Upgrade will allow the online retailer's customers to upgrade the purchase of a bound-book copy to include an e-book version. Amazon Pages allows its customers electronic access "to any page, section or chapter of a book as well as [purchasing] the book in its entirety," according to a company press release. www.Amazon.com

New York--Random House Inc., the world's largest trade book publisher, announced today its intent to work with online booksellers, search engines, entertainment portals and other appropriate vendors to offer the contents of its books to consumers for online viewing on a pay-per-page-view basis. Random House recognizes that digital search, display, and distribution will be increasingly important for books over time, and that while readers will want digital access in various formats, publishers and authors must be properly compensated and protected as such markets develop. Random House, Inc. will negotiate separate agreements with vendors in this arena, but has outlined some key components for each

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 2005--Jiggerbug, an online audio book rental service, today announced a new way to deliver their collection of best-selling audio book titles to subscribers - digitally. Similar to the Netflix model, current Jiggerbug subscribers enjoy quick and simple mail service delivery of their favorite book titles on either CD-ROM or cassette tape. With the new Instant Download service, Jiggerbug now allows subscribers to have the option to instantly download their favorite titles in an easy-to-use, take-it-with-you digital format. The Instant Download digital delivery is ideal for commuters, frequent gym goers or anyone who wants to create more time in

Publishers, distributors and e-retailers expect the advent and growth of smart phones and multifunctional personal digital assistants (PDAs) to stimulate the growth of the young e-book market. Yet, no matter how young or how small the market is, publishers have made a commitment to e-books and are anticipating the market will take off. The size of the e-book market in terms of revenue is based on the number of available titles, publishers' revenues or the revenues generated by e-retailers. For example, the New York-based International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), formerly the Open eBook Forum, reported in its "eBook Statistics" for the fourth quarter

Researchers and academics who use the Internet for research now have more resources from which to choose. Cambridge University Press has entered an agreement with online academic library Questia Media Inc. to add 1,000 of its titles to Questia's online collection. The agreement expands the library's collection to 50,000 academic textbooks. Troy Williams, president and chief executive officer of Questia Media, notes that while a large amount of public domain material (material published before 1923) exists online , making copyrighted material available to researchers is "a pressing need that Questia is addressing." Fee-based access ensures that publishers are compensated for the material and that

New York, N.Y. (February 28, 2005) -- Will digital textbooks replace print? Do Books offer improvements in learning? These questions and presentations on the advantages of using digital media to deliver educational content will be center stage at the Books in Education Conference, Thursday, April 14th, 2005 at the McGraw-Hill Auditorium in midtown Manhattan. The Open book Forum (of) is sponsoring this one-day event to present the latest developments in digital reading technologies, case studies on Books in the classroom, new business models for online curriculum, and legislative initiatives for digital textbooks. Presenters include educators, and representatives from textbook publishers, software companies, and online

A workshop examining the potential of e-books was recently held in Bangalore, India, to identify the issues and complexities involved in e-book projects, and determine the role of e-books in education, research and libraries. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) hosted the invitation-only workshop, which brought together publishers, distributors and users from Asia and Europe. Over 70 participants examined how the projected $400 billion industry will affect authors, publishers, distributors and consumers, and the challenges e-books face—short-lived technologies, and incompatible and non-interoperable formats and standards. "The e-book industry and marketplace is a nebulous one with each of [its] players

E-book sales have reached record levels, and revenues are way up, according to a report by the Open eBook Forum (OeBF), an international organization that monitors trades and standards for the e-publishing industry. Unit sales grew 46 percent to 421,955, while revenues were up 28 percent to $3.23 million, compared to the same quarter in 2003, according to OeBF. Twenty-four of the leading e-book publishers and retailers submit data to the OeBF, which uses the data to compile its report. The eBook Statistics Report is a quarterly report released by Open eBook Forum. "This quarter, e-books have hit a high mark for sales," says