Nate Hoffelder

Last week numerous authors complained that Nook Press, B&N’s self-pub platform, had missed their most recent payment.

While Barnes & Noble claimed on Monday that this issue had been resolved and that all of the delayed payments would be processed either Friday or Monday, that does not appear to have happened.

Some authors have gotten their much needed royalties, but I now have confirmation from two different authors who have told me that, as of Wednesday morning, they had not been paid.  That payment, which covered sales in the Nook Store in June 2014, was supposed to be sent out in late August or at the very beginning of September.

Due to what B&N described as a glitch in their system, only some authors were paid on time. Others, including authors Robert Swartwood, Georgette St.Clair, and IJ Parker, were left with no money and no explanation. As I reported on Sunday, several authors have said that Nook Press did not respond to emails on this issue.

And now it seems that at least some are still waiting on B&N. On the bright side, the number of unpaid authors is smaller than it was last week.

If you are an author with books at Nook Press, I would strongly urge you to check your bank statements and make sure your funds have been deposited.  If they have not then you should send an email to Nook Press and yell at them about it.

A two week delay in payment is simply ridiculous; the payment terms were 60 days or less, not 60 days plus however long it takes to fix the servers.

Have you been paid, or are you still waiting for the funds?

Twitter announced a new service yesterday which indie authors might like.

The social network started a beta test for new buy buttons. The test will only include a small percentage of U.S. users, and it is only visible on Twitter’s mobile apps, so most of us will be unaffected. But in the long run indie authors will have a new sales platform.

From Twitter’s blog:

Users will get access to offers and merchandise they can’t get anywhere else and can act on them right in the Twitter apps for Android and iOS; sellers will gain a new way to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales. We’re not building this alone: we’ve partnered with Fancy (@fancy), Gumroad (@gumroad), Musictoday (@Musictoday) and Stripe (@stripe) as platforms for this initial test, with more partners to follow soon.

In our test, an entire purchase can be completed in just a few taps. After tapping the “Buy” button, you will get additional product details and be prompted to enter your shipping and payment information. Once that’s entered and confirmed, your order information is sent to the merchant for delivery.

Twitter is launching the beta test in partnership with a handful of artists, retailers, and non-profits, including Eminem, Home Depot, and RED. Should this work out the service will be available to all.

This beta test is but Twitter’s latest idea for generating revenue; in addition to adverts inserted into your Twitter feeds, the social network has also long partnered with Amazon and offered features like embedded Amazon product listings and, as of a few months ago, the #AmazonCart hashtag which Twitterati can use to add an item to their Amazon shopping cart.

Kobo is exhibiting at IFA Berlin this week, where they revealed a radical change to their hardware plans. According to lesen.net, Kobo won’t be releasing new tablets this year and will instead be focusing on getting their apps on other companies’s hardware.

When Takahito Aiki took over for Mike Serbinis earlier this year, we knew from his reputation as a turnaround specialist that Kobo could be making some changes in pursuit of profitability. Kobo subsequently laid off 63 staff, and now they’re cutting back on their hardware investments.

Kobo Europe sales director Throsten Schroer is on the record as saying that the tablet market was "a very difficult market in which all manufacturers have to fight". This has led Kobo to decide not to replace the 3 Android tablets they launched last year, thus ending (for now) Kobo’s 3 year long experiment with Android tablets.

This move makes a lot of sense. For some time now I’ve been saying that the market is glutted with decent tablets. This has led everyone from Amazon to Google to scale back their efforts; Amazon still hasn’t leaked a 7″ tablet yet this year, and Google has only just now sent a new 7″ tablet through the FCC.

So long as Kobo had a sugar daddy, they could have ignored market trends and continued to make the huge capital investments necessary to bring new hardware to market, but now that Kobo has to become profitable that’s no longer possible.

And from the sounds of it, I don’t think Kobo is going to be launching any new ereaders in the near future, either, which means that the recently launched Kobo Aura H2O could be Kobo’s only hardware launch in 2014.

Again, that’s not such a bad idea, and it ties in with Kobo’s need to get the biggest bang for their buck. As I pointed out when I covered Kobo president Michael Tamblyn’s interview last month,  Kobo has had to be nimble and focus on areas where the big guys aren’t investing any time or money. And with the market full of budget and mid-priced ebook readers, that left one place for Kobo to go: up market, with premium 6.8″ ereaders like the Aura HD and the Aura H2O.

Here’s an interesting new screen tech which has an excellent chance of never reaching the market.

The Graphene Center at Cambridge University, in partnership with PlasticLogic, has just revealed the first graphene-based flexible grayscale display. According to the press release:

Graphene is a two-dimensional material made up of sheets of carbon atoms. It is among the strongest, most lightweight and flexible materials known, and has the potential to revolutionise industries from healthcare to electronics.

The new display prototype was built on a flexible plastic backplane which PL originally developed for use in ebook readers. The tech is quite similar to the Mobius screen tech which E-ink debuted last year, except in the case of the prototype it has yet to leave the lab.

In its ideal state, graphene consists of nothing but carbon, giving it a shade of black which is unmatched by existing epaper screens on the market, including screens produced by the market leader E-ink.

If this tech makes it out of the lab and into production, it could offer a screen which is much blacker than existing E-ink screens. But as you can see in the following video, this is still an early prototype and still has a ways to go before it is as fast as existing epaper screens:

As cool as this is, it’s still coming to the screen tech market late in the game. It’s competing against an established tech which might not be as good, but already has the bugs worked out. This could well preclude a startup working on a graphene display from getting enough funding to finish development, thus keeping the tech off the market – at least until E-ink buys the tech and incorporates it into their products (I am not predicting it, but I would not be surprised if that happened).

Beating the third anniversary of Epub3 by about a month, Adobe released a new version of Adobe Digital Editions today.  Now publicly available for OSX and Windows, Adobe DE 4.0 is the first version of this app to officially support Epub3 – such as it is.

The new app supports many parts of the EPub3 spec, but according to the release notes there are still a few features which have been left out.

Update: Adobe goofed on the release notes. They now say that they forgot to remove from the release notes issues which had been resolved or fixed in this release.

For example, Adobe DE 4.0 does not support embedded audio or video, and it is also lacking support for basics like right to left languages (Arabic, Hebrew, etc) . The search function is incomplete, and the app is also lacking advanced rendering features (such as knockout, overprint, and non-separable blend modes). And last but not least, mouse wheel scrolling is officially not supported for Epub3 ebooks.

And it gets worse for Windows users. This version of the app is also lacking MathML support, and it does not play well with IE9. The Windows app will also ignore several lesser features, including wbr, which is used to indicate where to split a word when hyphenating.

In addition to the incomplete support for Epub3, several bugs have also been mentioned in release notes, including memory management issues caused by large image files and other issues.

While I would normally encourage readers to rush out and get the new app right away so you can play with it, I think it might be better to wait until more of the bugs are worked out and more features are supported. But if you would like to try Adobe DE 4 and experience the joy of Epub3 for yourself, you can download the app from Adobe.

Authors have long been told that they should promote their books on Twitter, but until now there was no easy way to embed a sample of an ebook in the service so it can be read without leaving Twitter.

That changed today. I’ve just learned that a Japanese ebook retailer has developed a simple service that will take an Epub and return a link which can be tweeted.

The service is called EPUB2Twitter Tw-ePub and that it is open to the public. It enables authors to upload an Epub, add a title and brief description, and then generate a link which can be added to a tweet.

You can test the service for yourself here. When tweeted, that link triggers Twitter’s embed protocols, making it load an Epub viewer. I already tested it in a tweet, which you can view here. The resulting embed looks something like this:

That’s not a good screenshot, I know, but this does work out in practice. I’ve been playing with this service this morning, and it generates a readable Epub with a few basic features like text that can be highlighted and copied. It is a little slow, but given that it loads the Epub before displaying it that is to be expected.

If you like, you can see the same Epub displayed in your web browser.  I don’t know who developed this web app but it is pretty good.

ITmedia.co.jp

Initially released in late 2011, the basic Kindle set a new standard in the ebook reader for minimal features at minimal price. With only minimal hardware updates (it was re-released in 2012 in black), it has proven to be a mainstay in Amazon’s dominance of the ebook reader market.

And now it seems to have begun to go out of stock.

Update: A replacement model leaked. It’s going to cost a little more and come with a touchscreen.

My competitor noticed earlier today that the budget-priced Kindle is no longer quite so budget priced. The ad-supported model which sold for $69 is no longer available on Amazon.com, and not so coincidentally, the $89 international model is not available either.

Amazon has replaced the buy button for these two models with links to marketplace sellers which have them in stock – a telling detail, IMO. When Amazon runs out of an item, they usually tell you how long you will have to wait before new stock arrives. The absence of that estimated arrival time raises questions as to whether the models will be back in stock.

Update: The full priced basic Kindle is no longer available directly from Amazon.com, either.

While Amazon is still selling the full-priced version of this ereader for $89 (and it is still in stock on several of Amazon’s European websites), the stock issue with the ad-supported model has my competitor wondering whether Amazon is going to upgrade it with a new model.

I’m not so sure.

The thing we have to keep in mind with the basic Kindle is that it is designed to be the cheapest Kindle which Amazon could make.  I don’t see Amazon upgrading it, not unless the replacement can be made as cheap (or cheaper).

What’s more, this Kindle model hasn’t received a firmware update since January 2013. It’s missed out on several major feature changes, including Goodreads integration. That suggests that Amazon is not investing in this model because they don’t have any plans to keep it around.

In short, I think this model is on the way out.

If I were going to speculate, I would posit that either Amazon has decided they don’t need a cheapie Kindle any more, or they could be planning to replace it with a Kindle Paperwhite whose price was knocked down to (say) $99.

Given the shrinking ereader market and the rise of reading ebooks on tablets and smartphones, I think the first possibility is the more likely one.

But this is pure crystal ball territory, so your guess is as good as mine.

Rail travelers have a lot of time on their hands but they don’t always have a good book to fill it, and that’s why SNCF has launched a new digital library program.

Passengers riding on the French state railway can now take advantage of a selection of free public domain ebooks. Developed in partnership with Storylab and Parallel Publishing, the bibliothèque digitale TER offers short reads which can take anywhere from 15, 30, 45 minutes, to 1 hour , perfect for short trips.

The program also features full-length public domain novels, including free classics of French literature like La Fontaine’s Fables, Emile Zola’s Germinal, the Saturnine Poems by Paul Verlaine, and many others.

In addition to the free works, readers can also buy ebooks, with prices starting under one euro. I have fewer details on that, so any first hand accounts would be appreciated.

There’s long been an emotional connection between books and the rail, leading a number of cities to equip their commuter stations as digital libraries. The idea is still uncommon, but cities as diverse as Philadelphia, Bucharest, and Mexico City have started programs which enabled riders to download ebooks as they pass through certain stations.

According to Boersenblatt, this digital library grew out of SNCF’s plans to equip all stations and express trains with Wifi. I would bet that it was also influenced by similar program which launched in Spain in 2012, or the program that Piper Verlag started in Germany in February of this year.

ArchiMag, Boersenblatt

Blockbookster

Once hailed as the future of the book industry, print on demand has a solid niche in said industry but lately it seems to be treading water. Whenever we read of potential steps forward like Books-a-Million or B&N installing  Espresso Book Machines in their stores, the great news is cancelled out by similar pilots falling through.

I am happy to report today that Barnes & Noble is starting a pilot program in three of its stores, but the good news is tempered by by the news that Kodak’s partnership with OnDemandBooks has collapsed.

PW reported today that B&N has installed Espresso Book Machines in three of its stores in the northeast, including the flagship store at Union Square plus stores in Paramus, NJ and Willow Grove, PA.

According to a company spokesperson, customers will be able to make a physical print book of a hard-to-find book, a public domain title or self publish a book. “The purpose of the test,” the spokesperson said, “is to gauge consumer interest.”

"[The pilot] is part of our continued program to grow our base of machines. We’re delighted to be testing our machines in Barnes & Noble. We’ve gone from indies to multi-retailers," said Dane Neller, CEO of EBM maker On Demand Books.

Barnes & Noble is following in the footsteps of Books-a-Million, which installed EBMs in two of its stores in November 2013 (in Birmingham, AL and Portland, ME), as well as other booksellers including Powell’s Books, which has had EBMs in its main Portland store for several years now.  BAM reported in March 2014 that it was pleased with the response, but they have yet to announce plans to install more POD machines.

Alas, while BAM said they were pleased with the success of the two POD machines they installed, Kodak is not.

In late 2012 Kodak and OnDemandBooks, the makers of the Espresso Book Machine, announced a partnership which was going to integrate the EBM into Kodak picture kiosks. That pilot was delayed for over a year but eventually got started in November 2013. Two EBMs were installed in a couple Bartell Drug Stores near Seattle, enabling customers to either order a book printed from OnDemandBooks’s catalog, or bring in their own work and have it printed.

Here’s one of the EBMs, courtesy of Seattle author Joe Follansbee:

I had high hopes that this pilot would kickstart book POD in retail locations; Kodak’s extensive experience with printing photos on demand and their platform’s online integration hinted at several ways that OnDemandBook’s service could be improved.

Alas, that is probably not going to happen. According to Kodak Alaris spokesperson Audrey Jonckheer, the project has been shelved:

As you know, the launch of the program last November was a trial run. Though the service offering of OnDemandBooks publishing through Kodak Picture Kiosks was an innovative new approach to providing consumers customizable solutions, it’s not being further pursued at this time.

That’s a shame; Kodak has photo booths in tens of thousands of retail locations in the US, and if this partnership had worked out there was a chance that thousands of EBMs could have been deployed.

At this time OnDemandBooks lists 61 locations around the world with Espresso Book Machines. That does not include the two Bartell Drugs  stores, both of which have removed the EBMs they had installed last November.

I see from my past coverage that in March 2014 OnDemandBooks listed 74 locations, and that in July 2013 they listed 70 locations. Clearly their business is not expanding, raising questions as to whether it is the tech, business model, or high capital costs which is keeping the Espresso Book Machine a niche service.

Goodreads has made many changes since it joined Amazon’s evil ebook empire early last year, and late last week they added one which many readers and authors will appreciate.

From over on the Goodreads blog:

Don’t judge a book by its cover…judge it by what’s inside with our new Preview feature, which launches today! With Preview, you can sample the story before committing to the whole book. Now our U.S. members can get a taste of their next amazing read right on the Goodreads website. 

The preview feature is based on close integration with the Kindle Store.  Click the open preview button  and the ebook’s sample will open in Kindle Cloud Reader.

This feature is obviously only available with ebooks which are sold through the Kindle Store, and it’s only available to Goodreads members in the US, so it won’t do GR’s majority non-US membership much good.  But I would not be too concerned about the restrictions; Goodreads regularly launches new features as US-only before releasing them internationally. I suspect that limiting access is part of their beta test methodology.

News is coming out of Germany today that Random House has quietly stopped requiring Adobe DRM on the ebooks sold by German retailers.

Update: Alas, it has been confirmed as a technical error.

There’s been no formal announcement from Penguin Random House, but lesen.net is reporting that they have numerous confirmations in their user forums that the change has been made.

Readers are reporting that the hard encryption DRM from Adobe has been replaced by a soft DRM, namely digital watermarks. Popular Random House titles like  The Summer of blueberries and The Goldfinch are available as clean Epub files which can be downloaded, transferred, or converted with no hassle.

Digital watermarks are a type of DRM which does not lock down a file but instead adds extra bits of code which can be used to identify who bought the file, and where. This type of DRM is still uncommon in the US ebook market, but it is used widely in the "DRM-free" music sold by Amazon, Google, and Apple.

Digital watermarks are also growing increasingly popular among European publishers; as this infographic from Dutch ebook distributor CB Logistics shows, the majority of Dutch publishers have switched to this type of DRM. So have a number of other publishers in Europe.

At this time I cannot confirm the status of RH titles at Amazon.de, but I do know that at least one German ebook retailer, Libreka.de, is offering the ebooks with the new DRM.  Lesen.net is still waiting for confirmation from Random House about the new policy, so at this time it is not possible to rule out an error or technical snafu.

If this is a new policy then it will be the tipping point. The trade ebook market will have made a transition from hard DRM to soft DRM similar to the one which music went through in 2007 when Amazon was the first retailer to sell mp3 files from 4 of the major record labels sans DRM.

Amazon was allowed to sell "DRM-free" mp3 files because the market was then dominated by Apple and iTunes.  In a similar note, the German ebook retailer Libreka might have gained permission to change the DRM because Amazon dominates the trade ebook market.

I don’t know if that is why Random House made their decision, but I can add that the new DRM-policy is at best confined to Europe. I just bought a couple Penguin Random House titles from Amazon.com and B&N, and both were encrypted with DRM, darnit.

But in spite of the presence of Adobe DRM, I still think the change in Germany was a test and not a technical snafu; it matches too closely with the rumblings I have heard from other major US trade publishers.

As you know, Macmillan switched the SF publisher Tor-Forge Books to DRM-free in the summer of 2012. They have shown no visible interest in expanding that policy to the rest of the company, but I know of other US publishers who are considering similar policies.

Thanks to embargoes I cannot tell you much in the way of details, but I do know of two different US publishers considering radical shifts in their DRM policies. One could be announcing that change next week, but at this point I don’t have all of the details and cannot say for sure what will be announced.

You might want to go pop some more popcorn; the next month or so could be very interesting.

It’s been just over a week since Barnes & Noble launched their latest tablet, and the reviews are trickling in.

Unfortunately for both B&N and for potential buyers, there weren’t very many blogs interested in writing a review for this tablet. I only found 5 actual reviews (not counting the fake review posted by Publishers Weekly), which is far fewer than the dozen reviews I found for the Fire Phone.

In general, the reviewers were less than impressed with this tablet. In fact, the only truly positive verdict I found was penned by my competitor when he reviewed the non-Nook version of the Galaxy Tab 4 a few months ago.

And so I will start off with his review.

• The eBook Reader blog

This is the first Samsung tablet that I’ve reviewed. I never understood why people chose Samsung tablets when there are almost always other brands with better specs for less money. But now I can see why Samsung’s tablets are as popular as they are. They may not have the best specs or lowest prices, but they have the appearance and feel of good quality tablets, at least that’s the case with the Tab 4 line.

• Business Insider: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook Review

If you need an affordable tablet to entertain the kids and get some light reading done, the $179 Galaxy Tab 4 Nook won’t disappoint. The ability to create multiple user profiles makes it easy to share, and access to both the Google Play Store and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Shop is a definite plus.

But it’s far from being the best tablet you can buy. Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX tablets, which are also pretty affordable starting at $229, come with a much sharper display, a design that’s just more premium and polished overall, and access to Amazon’s Mayday support feature (Barnes & Noble offers on-site tech support) and other goodies. But you don’t get access to the Google Play Store, which is one area where the Nook excels.

• Laptop Magazine: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook — Full Review and Benchmarks 

Pros: Long battery life; Interesting interactive reading experience; Access to full Google Play store; Light weight;

Cons: Not enough usable storage; Low resolution display; Tinny audio; Expensive content; Confusing parental controls settings

Verdict: For those locked into a Barnes & Noble library, the $179 Galaxy Tab 4 Nook might be worth a look. But its poor performance and complicated controls might scare others away.

• PC Magazine: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook Review & Rating

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook is a decent entry-level device, but I don’t see the market for it other than existing Barnes & Noble fans, and those already with substantial Nook libraries. Otherwise, it’s a rather generic tablet that excels in no one area, and one that has even more custom software than the already bloated non-Nook version. It’s even a step down in display resolution from the Nook HD, which was one of my favorite low-cost tablets

• Engadget: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook review: good for reading, but hardly the best budget tablet 

This should come as a shock to no one, but the Galaxy Tab 4 Nook is only a good idea if you’re already a loyal Barnes & Noble customer. Setting aside the fact that it comes with free content (a gimmick, if you ask me), this tablet is appealing because it offers a better reading experience than even the regular Nook for Android app. Until Barnes & Noble redesigns its standard Android application, this is the best Nook experience you’re going to get, short of buying one of B&N’s standalone, e-ink e-readers.

• Mashable: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook Is Just Good Enough [REVIEW] 

With its middling features and not-quite-fully-integrated Nook widget and app suite, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook can’t compete with the forward-leaning Amazon Kindle Fire HDX or mid-size tablet-market-leading Apple iPad Mini.

Yet, I still like it. A typical E Ink-based reader from Barnes & Noble or Amazon costs anywhere from $69 to almost to $120 for the backlit model with the most storage. For $60 more you can get a full-blown tablet that can handle everything from textbooks to movies and even action games. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

If you want an affordable, light, sharp-looking, reading-ready tablet for your back-to-school teen, this could be the right choice. Just don’t let her see an iPad mini or Kindle Fire HDX.

Never one to fight a single battle at a time, Amazon is in conflict with publishers in multiple countries, including Bonnier in Germany, Hachette Book Group in the US, and (reportedly) unnamed publishers in the UK.

And now we can add Japan to that list.

The Asahi Shimbun is reporting that Amazon has launched a new ranking system which has Japanese publishers up in arms. 

Amazon Japan is the nation’s largest book retailer for paper and electronic media. Its new system gives higher rankings to publishers that pay higher fees to Amazon Japan and to publishers with larger eBook catalogs.

Additionally, eBooks from publishers ranked higher are given more prominence on the Amazon.co.jp website.

Many publishers, including high-profile publishing houses, have protested the move, calling it a form of "blackmail" that exploits the company’s considerable dominance in the book retailing industry.

"Wouldn’t antitrust authorities start to wonder if Amazon Japan is taking advantage of its monopolistic position in the market?" said Bungeishunju Ltd. when it protested to Amazon Japan in June.

After checking several Japanese news sites (both English-language and Japanese) I have yet to uncover a corroborating story, so I would suggest that we take the above quote with a large grain of salt.

Update: The story, including general details on the rating system, has been confirmed/reported by the AFP.

Second Update: The comment section over at The Passive Voice blog has pointed out that the accusations quoted above sound like co-op, a common business practice in the US.

But while I was looking I did find an unrelated story from July.

It seems that a number ofJapanese publishers do not appreciate Amazon’s sales practices, and according to the Manichi Shimbun they responded by removing their titles from Amazon.co.jp.

In a dispute which reportedly started in May (but only came across my desk today), 5 publishers suspended sales via Amazon with the demand that the retail giant end student discounts. The publishers object to Amazon skirting Japan’s fixed book price laws via Amazon Student membership service, which launched in Japan in 2012.

The retailer awards 10 percent of a book’s price as "points" to registered student purchasers. They can use these points to purchase books at discount prices. The retail price of books, however, is controlled through resale price maintenance, in which retailers are required to sell books at the price set by publishers. Through its service, Amazon is in effect giving students a 10 percent discount on books.

Five publishers joined a boycott of Amazon in May, and 3 were continuing the boycott when my source story was published in early July. About 2,700 titles were affected by the boycott.

I can’t confirm that the boycott continues to this day, but I would not be surprised. I can add, however, that other publishers have expressed dissatisfaction with Amazon’s discount practices but don’t feel they can afford to join the boycott. For example, Kodansha is described as saying that "its business with the online retailer is extensive, including e-book services, and it cannot easily resort to suspending Amazon sales."

It’s not clear how or when that boycott will be resolved, but as one American publisher has shown it is possible to avoid doing business with Amazon.  EDC was recently profiled in Business Insider in relation to its cutting ties with Amazon in 2012:

With no real choice, White took the leap in 2012, becoming one of the only publishers in the country to spurn the “everything store.” Distributors who resell books to Amazon, including Ingram and Baker & Taylor, also soon found their supplies of books like “The Gas We Pass” and “Sticker Dolly Dressing Dream Jobs” cut off. For good measure, EDC also ditched other big-box discount stores, including Sam’s Club, Costco, and Target.

 In a turn of events that might offer some solace to other publishers, White recently announced that EDC has not only survived the leap into the unknown but just had its best year ever in net revenues. July sales were up 28% over the same month last year, and first-quarter revenues came in 20% higher than 2013’s numbers.

Amazon was only a small fraction of EDC’s business, so the decision to cut ties may have beenblown out of proportion, but it still shows that life is possible without Amazon.

image by Daniel E Lee

The German consumer rights group VZBV suffered a legal defeat this week in their fight to get readers more rights over their purchases.

For the past few months VZBV has been fighting a legal battle similar to the one which they initiated last year over the sale of used computer games. The Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverbandes has argued that consumers should have the right of resale, but unfortunately two different courts have disagreed.

Earlier this week the VZBV lost an appeal which would have overturned a ruling by a district court in Bielefeld.

Correction: The district court did not specifically rule that reselling ebooks was illegal, but that a seller can block the resale by making the buyer agree to give up that right (whether the resale of ebooks is illegal is still an unanswered question). As you might recall from the Usedsoft decision, in the EU sellers cannot force buyers to give up their right to resell software.

The higher regional court at Hamm upheld the district court’s ruling, effectively ending the VZBV’s legal battles – for the moment.

While this issue has been settled under German law, there is still some question as to whether it will remain settled under EU law.

As you might recall, there is an ongoing lawsuit in the Netherlands over a website called Tom Kabinet. That site is a marketplace where users can resell their DRM-free ebooks, and it was sued in late June 2014 by a Dutch publisher’s association.

The Nederlandse Uitgeversverbond (NUV) argued that Tom Kabinet was nothing less than copyright infringement under EU law. They are probably correct, but so far as I know they have not yet secured a ruling in their favor.

While you may have read that stories which claimed used ebook sales were legal in the Netherlands, that is not an accurate description. I can’t see that the case has been decided either way, but I do know that the judge had declined to shut down Tom Kabinet while the parties fought in court.

Used ebook sales aren’t necessarily legal yet in the Netherlands, but there is a chance that they could be. And that leaves open the possibility that used ebook sales could become legal in the European Union.

If the Dutch judge rules in favor of Tom Kabinet, then both this case and the one from Germany will have to be appealed upwards to an EU court. That court will have to decide which ruling is valid, and overturn the other.

It’s far too early to guess which way that EU court will rule, so I wouldn’t hold your breath in anticipation (I wasn’t looking forward to giving you mouth to mouth, anyway). But I do think this could prove to be one of the more interesting legal cases of 2015 or 2016.

lesen.net

images by aussiegall,  steakpinball