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Critics Say Google Book Settlement Violates Intl. Law, Treaties
May 11, 2010

San Francisco - The proposed settlement between Google (NASD: GOOG) and authors and publishers, which would set terms for the creation of Google's massive book-scanning project, is in violation of a number of international laws and treaties, according to a report from the Open Book Alliance, a group that opposes the deal and counts Google rivals Amazon (NASD: AMZN), Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) among its members.

E-Readers the Center of Attention at Consumer Electronics Show
January 11, 2010

Along with 3D televisions and mobile devices and apps, e-readers were among the hottest products at the Consumer Electronics Show, held January 7-10 in Las Vegas. And technophiles internationally have been talking about the new players on the market, the prototypes of those still to be launched and what the future holds for this exploding market.

Keepers of the Brand
August 1, 2009

After college graduation, I was saddled with the challenge of wielding a liberal arts degree in a tough job market. My strategy was to throw myself into technology and grad school. Many classmates of mine went the traditional publishing route, nabbing junior editorial roles. This was … ahem! … a few decades ago, and the starting salary was around $15,000. In New York City. The feeble compensation was rationalized by the fact that publishing was a “glamour” profession, and since the editor was at the epicenter of prestige, many jumped at the chance to get these positions.

Publishing Innovator of the Year: Harlequin
May 1, 2009

"Wherever women are, we are,” says Malle Vallik, director, digital content and interactivity for Harlequin Enterprises. You’ll hear this mantra uttered by other Harlequin executives, but it is much more than corporate speak. It is part of a “deliberate strategy,” says Vallik, and the driving force behind Harlequin’s evolution over the past 60 years.

Digital Directions: The Semantic Web
August 1, 2008

Tim Berners-Lee, director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), outlined a strategy for the future of the Web in a series of papers and articles published between 1998 and 2001. He observed that while there was a wealth of information available for people to explore on the Web, computers had difficulty extracting information from it. The Web consists largely of free-form text, and computers have great difficulty understanding human language. While search engines can index the Web, a human being is required to interpret the search results. You may be able to surf the Web, but your computer can’t. The value of the

Distribution Goes Digital
August 1, 2007

“We are leading the pack by building a digital warehouse, which is the digital equivalent of our print warehouse,” commented Jane Friedman, president and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers, in the May issue of Book Business. This is the ultimate sign-off on the industry’s embrace of the future, and its take-back of content control from trailblazers such as Google, Amazon and Yahoo. For some years now, various technology vendors have enabled publishers to deliver electronically formatted versions of their titles for special purposes. These have included applications such as conversions to XML formats (e.g., Publishing Dimensions), proprietary e-book reader formats (Mobipocket), sight-impaired applications (National

Must-Read Interview: Insights on blog marketing for book publishers, social networking, e-newsletters and more
April 20, 2007

When it comes to incorporating multimedia—such as blogs, webcasts, e-newsletters, social networking, video, among others—into the business model, Christian publisher Baker Publishing Group is well ahead of the curve. Book Business Extra spoke with two executives from Baker’s different divisions: Jim Hart, the Internet marketing manager at Baker’s Bethany House Publishers, and Twila Bennett, the senior director of marketing at its Revell, Baker Books and Chosen divisions. In this exclusive interview, Hart and Bennett share their insights behind the company’s innovative marketing tactics. EXTRA: From a marketing and sales perspective, describe some of the innovative ways you are using blogs to increase your

Help Yourself to Opportunity
March 1, 2007

Whether it’s through Dr. Phil’s advice on “getting real” or Dale Carnegie’s strategies on “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” we seem to be incessantly compelled to better ourselves. Besides spiritual and professional self-help books, do-it-yourself books have exploded in popularity over the years (the “For Dummies” line published by John Wiley & Sons Inc. among them). But like any other market segment, the self-help book market faces challenges—challenges that are, in fact, similar to those most publishers are facing at the moment. They also face great opportunity in a changing marketplace—opportunity that some say could be easily missed. Community Is Key

Yahoo Becomes Second to Deny Google Data
December 1, 2006

Google suffered another setback in its efforts to defend its digital book library when rival Yahoo declined to provide information to assist with an upcoming copyright infringement lawsuit revolving around its digital-book scanning program. Yahoo responded to a Google subpoena and objected to providing information for two upcoming court battles Google will face against the Author’s Guild and McGraw-Hill Companies. The plaintiffs accuse Google of digitizing material without prior consent from the copyright holder. Google had hoped to gain information about how its competitors had undertaken similar projects. Yahoo said in its Nov. 20 filling to the United States District Court in the Northern District of

Amazon Says “No” to Google
October 27, 2006

Amazon.com balked at rival Google Inc.’s request for book scanning data, when it responded this week that it would not provide information the search engine giant had requested via subpoena earlier this month. According to published reports by the Associated Press, Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, filed its objections Monday to the subpoena it was served on Oct. 6. Claiming that revealing the information would expose trade secrets, Amazon was not willing to cooperate. The Seattle-based online book retailer offers “Search Inside,” a feature that offers customers the ability to search inside of select books that publishers have agreed to show potential purchasers. Google