Guide Through the Legal Jungle

Has Google Already Digitized Your Book?

Google has already digitized more than 7 Million books as part of its book program. Authors and publishers who remain a part of the Google Book Settlement are to receive between $60 and $300 for each book Google digitized without permission.

Limited Access to Google's Official Database of Digitized Books?

During my April 2, 2009, teleseminar, What the Google Book Settlement Means for Authors and Publishers, attendees asked how they can determine whether Google has already digitized their books. As I shared during the teleconference, in the Final Notice of the Class Action Settlement, Google indicates that a searchable database of all books covered by the Settlement is available at www.googlebooksettlement.com. I could not locate or access the database when I went the Settlement website. I suspect it is only available to those who have confirmed their participation in the Settlement.

Other Options for Determining Digitization Status of Your Books

If you can’t get to the searchable database on the Settlement website, here are some suggestions obtained from the Anz LitLovers Litblog.

• Visit Google Book Search which is available at http://books.google.com/
  
• Search for your books by title or by author name
  
• If you find your book, click on the link “About this book” and check the information included under the heading “More details”

According to Anz LitLovers Litblog, if your book has been digitized, it will be indicated under the “More details” heading along with identification of the library that provided the book for digitizing. While I don’t think this is true for every book that Google has digitized, it was the case for the sample search ‘Tribal Guerillas’ cited in the Anz LitLovers Litblog posting.

I say it’s not true for every digitized books because I saw several books that did not have this information listed under “More details” yet were listed as being available preview. For example, one book listed as “Limited Preview” offered 60 of the book’s 300 pages for online preview. If there is that much of a book available for preview, my bet is Google has digitized the entire book.

Obviously, this method of checking the digitization of your book is not full-proof.

Annotated Summary of Google Book Settlement Agreement

Annotated Summary

I have prepared a 10-page annotated summary of the proposed Google Book Settlement Agreement. The annotations are references to the relevant provisions in the Settlement Agreement. You can use the summary for an overview of the Settlement Agreement. Alternatively, you can use it as a guide for your own journey through the 300+ page actual Settlement Agreement. The annotated summary is available at www.joybutler.com/googlesummary.pdf

Accompanying Teleseminar

The annotated summary tracks my free teleseminar, What the Google Book Settlement Means for Authors and Publishers, offered on April 2, 2009. A recording of the teleseminar will be available for replay by phone until at least May 31, 2009. You can access the complimentary telephone replay by calling (641) 715-3900. When prompted for the extension, enter 47422 followed by the pound sign (#).

The 10-page Annotated Summary and Teleseminar Address the Following Issues:

• How did the Google book program and the lawsuit happen?
• Who falls under the terms of the Google Book Settlement?
• Why are May 5, 2009; June 5, 2010; and April 5, 2011 important dates for authors and publishers?
• What can Google do with your book if you remain in the Settlement?
• What are your rights to remove or exclude your book from the Google book database?
• What payments will Google make to authors and publishers?
• What happens if Google decides your book is not commercially available?
• How does the Google Book Settlement impact relationships between authors and publishers?
• What additional factors should authors and publishers consider when deciding how to respond to the Settlement?

Figuring Out Your Publication Date

Publication within copyright law can be a complicated concept. As a general rule, in order for a work to be considered published, the copyright owner must authorize the publication and make multiple copies of the work available to the public.

A small publisher inquired whether the publication date would be “the date your books emerge from the bindery, the date the shipment arrives at your warehouse, the date you send out review copies, or the date you sell your first copies. I would argue that for copyright law purposes, the date you offer the first copies for sale is the date of publication.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Amazon.com

In my blog posting, Changes Afoot in the Publishing Industry, I discussed amazon.com’s new requirement that publishers use BookSurge, an amazon.com-owned subsidiary, for the printing of all print-on-demand books offered directly through amazon.com.

Print-on-Demand printing, or POD for short, is a method of printing by which you print one book at a time.  See Part Two of the blog series on the The Ins and Outs of Self-Publishing for more information on the business aspects of POD printing.

Many publishers are upset about amazon.com’s action.

Changes Afoot in the Publishing Industry

The publishing industry has been abuzz over two recent developments: one involving amazon.com and print-on-demand; the other involving Harper Collin Publishing.

Amazon.com and Print-on-Demand

Some Background on POD Printing. Print-on-Demand printing, or POD for short, is a method of printing by which you print one book at a time. I discuss POD printing in detail in Part Two of my blog series on the Ins & Outs of Self-Publishing .

While POD lowers upfront investment and financial risk, it increases the publisher’s costs of producing each book. That makes it difficult for publishers using POD printing to offer the 40 – 60% discount that is normally required for sales through bookstores and other traditional book distribution channels. Nevertheless, there are publishers who have built successful business models by combining POD printing, a short discount to wholesalers, and sales through amazon.com and other online bookstores.

Amazon’s Recent Actions. Lightning Source is the leader among POD printers. Amazon is requiring publishers to use a Lightning Source competitor, BookSurge, for the printing of all POD books offered through amazon.com. The consequence of not complying is loss of the buy button on the book’s amazon.com profile page. This means the book would be sold only through marketplace resellers and not directly by amazon.com – an action that will surely decrease the number of books sold through amazon.

J.K. Rowling versus the Harry Potter Lexicon

J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series, has filed suit against a Michigan-based publisher to prevent publication of the Harry Potter Lexicon, a 400-page booked based on material from the Harry Potter Lexicon Website created by Harry Potter super-fan, Steven Vander Ark.

RDR Books and Steven Vander Ark’s Argument

The publisher of the Harry Potter Lexicon, RDR Books, describes Vander Ark’s book as a reference book that analyzes and describes all the characters, places, spells, creatures and physical objects found in the seven Harry Potter novels.  Vander Ark organizes the material like an encyclopedia in alphabetical order. RDR argues that the book is protected under the First Amendment and the copyright fair use doctrine. Rowling and Warner Brothers refer to the book as a re-packaging of Ms. Rowling’s creative work.

More Legal Issues in Julie & Julia

In my last posting, I began discussing the book Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. I noted that while I saw no copyright issues with respect to Julie Powell’s discussion of Julia Child’s recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I did see other rights issues.

The real rights issue with respect to Julie and Julia is right of publicity. Julia Child’s estate could have accused Powell and her publisher of using Julia Child’s name and persona to promote Powell’s book. Julia Childs name forms part of the book title. Also, there’s a book promotional trailer that includes Julia Child’s image. As an aside, I highly recommend viewing the trailer which you can find here.  It is hysterical and very well-done.

Are Recipes Copyrightable? – Rights Clearance Observations about Julie & Julia, Deceptively Delicious, and The Sneaky Chef

I recently listened to – and enjoyed – the audiobook version of the memoir, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.  It’s the story of Julie Powell, an aspiring actress who works in an unfulfilling temp. secretary job and who struggles for some direction in her life as she approaches her 30^th birthday.

Powell takes on the project of cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her hope is to use cooking as a therapeutic method that will save her soul and rescue her life.  She shares her progress in a blog which soon becomes wildly popular and generates an offer from Little, Brown and Company to write a book about the project. Powell’s Julie & Julia has sold over 100,000 copies.

Recipe Copyright Issues in Julie & Julia

It’s a professional hazard of entertainment attorneys to contemplate rights issues as we watch movies, read books, and view other means of media. The first rights question occurring to the reader might be the use of Julia Child’s recipes in Julie Powell’s blog and book.

The Ins & Outs of Self-Publishing – Series Wrap-up

This is a bonus posting to finish my blog series on the Ins and Outs of Self-Publishing summarizing my remarks in a panel discussion on the “Ins and Outs of Self-Publishing” sponsored by the Washington, DC chapter of the Women’s National Book Association. 

In Parts One and Two, I discussed using a traditional publisher and self-publishing using print-on-demand (POD) printing. In Parts Three and Four, I discussed publishing via vanity or subsidy press including  success stories of authors who self-published through a vanity press. In Part Five, I discussed self-publishing by working directly with distributors and wholesalers.

In this wrap-up posting, I’ll share with you some of my favorite books and resources on publishing:

 

The Ins & Outs of Self-Publishing – Part Five

This is the fifth posting in my series summarizing my remarks in a panel discussion on the “Ins and Outs of Self-Publishing” sponsored by the Washington, DC chapter of Women's National Book Association.

In Parts One and Two of the series, I discussed using a traditional publisher and self-publishing using print-on-demand (POD) printing. In Part Three, I discussed publishing via vanity or subsidy press and in Part Four, I shared some self-publishing-via-subsidy press success stories. In this Part Five, I discuss self-publishing by working directly with distributors and wholesalers.