Seems kind of extreme 

Rowling Bars Swedish Radio From her Books

J.K. Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter series, has prohibited Swedish radio from reading excerpts from the books on the air, a lawyer said.

Rowling apparently was upset that a radio announcer had read passages from Harry Potter books during a children's program without asking her permission.

Under Swedish law, radio and television stations can broadcast readings of published works without approval from the author, as long as they pay royalty fees afterward. But if authors explicitly say they don't want their books read on the air, the broadcasters must abide, Swedish radio lawyer Gunhild Frylen said Thursday.

The conflict started when radio officials contacted Rowling's agent with questions on where to send the royalty money, Frylen said.

"They were very upset and said, `What do you mean you've read our books?' It was very hard for them to understand that this is the law here." [read more]

Corporate battles 

Amazon settles Barnes & Noble patent suit

Amazon.com has settled its controversial patent-infringement lawsuit against rival bookseller Barnes & Noble's online unit.

Amazon, the Internet retailer, would not disclose terms of the settlement, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Tuesday.

In a lawsuit filed in October 1999, Amazon.com argued that Barnes & Noble's Web site uses technology that was too similar to Amazon's patented "1-Click" system.

That system stores billing and shipping information so online customers don't have to re-enter data each time they buy.

Barnes & Noble's online subsidiary, barnesandnoble.com, uses a similar system, called "Express Lane." [read more]

Hooray for the small press 

Is Quality King? In My Book It Is! by Amy Phillips

I'm tired of hearing that smaller publishers don't put out quality books. I'm tired of hearing it because it simply isn't true.

Yes, there are small publishers who are new to the game and who fail to notice the subtle details that seasoned professionals can spot a mile away. But in my opinion, small publishers are getting a bad rap. There are plenty of independent publishers out there who have a keen eye for detail, who know how to present well-written material in a book that is visually appealing. I can't tell you how many small publishers I've met who consider their work a labor of love. They know books, they care about books, and they put a lot of time and money into producing quality titles.

I have never met a reader who put a book down because they were unfamiliar with the publishing house. I have met readers who put down books because they noticed typos on the back cover or noticed hickeys when flipping through the pages. It doesn't matter who published the book: a shoddy job is a shoddy job. [read more]

More on copyright extension 

Opposing Copyright Extension

Libraries Online 

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