Let's Get Legal

Exciting news in copyright world!  Anyone who has ever wanted to use Sherlock Holms for their own pleasure can legally do so and share it with the world.  Thanks be to Leslie Klinger who stood up to the Doyle estate when they demanded a license fee.  Klinger said 'nu-uh honey' and took those greedy jerks to court.

Back in February 2013 Klinger was co-editing In The Company of Sherlock Holmes (Pegasus Books) with Laurie R. King when the Conan Doyle Estate contacted their publisher and according to Publishers Weekly(PW), " implied that if the Estate wasn't paid a license fee, they'd convince the major distributors not to sell the book.”  Of course the publisher was a little concerned and decided the book could not go forward until the matter was resolved.

So, fast-forward to December 2013 and Illinois federal judge Ruben Castillo's ruling on the case.  Castillo found that Sherlock Holmes, other characters, and elements of the series published before 1923 are in the public domain.  "Castillo held that for all but a few remaining stories, the “public may use the pre-1923 story elements without seeking a license.”'

Sir Author Conan Doyle died on July 7, 1930, which would make this summer 84 years since his death.  As you may or may not know the standard "Copyright endures for a term consisting of the life of the author plus 70 years after the author’s death.”  (Trout 63)  So the whole ordeal was unnecessary.  The estate was presumably basing their request on the dates of Doyle's later works, ten of which Judge Castillo found to still be protected by copyright law.  However about 50 other stories are now up for grabs! -So to speak.

In other news more recent news in the Apple price fixing case Judge Denise Cote made two rulings that hurt Apple.  The judge rejected Apple’s two expert witnesses and granted class action status.  This is unfortunate for Apple in that they may not be able to avoid a large damage award.

Who else is getting their arses handed to them? Barnes & Noble.  Publishers Weekly reported in January that several law firms have filed class action lawsuits against Barnes & Noble claiming that the company misled investors from February 2013 to December 2013.  According to PW The law firm Ryan & Maniskas listed eight causes: " (1) Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader sales had dramatically declined; (2) the Company would shutter its Nook manufacturing operations altogether; (3) the carrying value of the Nook assets were impaired by millions of dollars; (4) the carrying value of the Nook inventory was overstated by $133 million; (5) the Company was expecting fiscal 2014 retail losses in the high single digits; (6) Barnes & Noble had over-accrued certain accounts receivables; (7) Barnes & Noble was unable to provide timely audited financial results for fiscal 2013; and (8) the Company might be forced to restate its previously reported financial results.”

Trout, Brett J. Cyber Law: A Legal Arsenal for Online Business. MBS Direct, 2007. VitalBook file.

Let's Talk About Negotiating

We can't discuss writing and publishing without exploring negotiating techniques.  Believe it or not there is a science and art to negotiating.  For instance if you think that pretending to walk out until your demands are met means you are the winner, you would be wrong.  Playing hardball is more of a dirty trick and should not be used.  That behavior can ruin a relationship and destroy negotiations.  It can lead to positional bargaining which just ends in bruised egos. 

Positional bargaining neglects the real issues and desires at hand.  If you become stuck on positions you may neglect your interests.  Your interests are the underlying issues making your position. 

 For example you want out of your rental home contract early but your landlord does not want the place to be vacant early.  Your position is to move out, the landlord's is to have the income.  You interests are moving out, finding a better or cheaper place to live, which may take time.  The landlord wants a steady income and does not want a vacant property sitting while he tries to market and lease it. 

One way to address the interests of both parties is for you, the tenant, to rent for a specified time while you find a new place and the landlord can begin marketing and showing the home while you are there.  For the inconvenience you make negotiate a prorated rate for the time.

Or course if you ever find yourself negotiating a publishing deal it won't be that easy.  Don't fret dearies.  I'm hear to help and guide you, and by guide you I mean link you to some awesome videos and podcasts from learned professionals like Margaret Neale who can help you "Get What You Want."  Mrs. Neale brings up some very valid points about women and negotiations.  There is a double standard for men and women when it comes to negotiations.  Women are seen as being unkind and pushy whereas a man is seen as ambitious.  Our society also conditions women to be uncomfortable with confrontation or asking for what they deserve.  That of course can lead into unequal pay for men and women but that's another hurdle for another time.  Neale says there is no one formula for a great negotiation but there are certain tactics that can help as well as research and preparedness. 

William Ury did a Ted Talk a few years ago titled "The Walk from No to Yes" that summarizes some of the information in his book, "Getting To Yes.”  He also speaks about the rut that positional arguing can lead to.  While we usually see arguments in two sides there is usually a forgotten third side or outlook.  It's the third side that reminds the other two what is really at stake.  This third view uses objective criteria to weigh the possibilities for each party.

If you have the time and attention span there is a video from Stanford Graduate School of Business featuring Joel Peterson on "Conducting Effective Negotiations" that you should check out.  There is some repeated information from Ury's talk but more in depth.  Where Ury uses world politics for examples Peterson uses everyday examples, and a few political.  He also touches on the how arbitrators can play a key role in negotiations.

If you only watch one lecture I highly recommend Margaret Neale's talk.  She addresses so of the specific difficulties that face women negotiating in professional and everyday settings.   

Wanna Peep On Bill Gates' Bookshelf? No I Didn't Think So

Bill Gates' bookshelf looks exactly as you would expect it too.  Bill, Mr. Gates if you're nasty, has a list of books he has, is, and will read on his blog.  So what does a billionaire spend his time reading?  Not Twilight!  The covers on display range in themes from Class Warfare to Liberating Learning.  We are talking BROAD social topics.  I believe my IQ went up a few points just reading the titles.  While many of the titles are from well-off white guys discussing the plight of the poor and our dismal future some may actually be interesting and insightful reads.  Others may give incite on the type of person Bill really is or strives to be.

If you are interested in nonfiction, as many apparently are not counting college student forced to read certain works, have a wander over to The Gates Notes and peruse the shelves.  There you will find some of Bill's current and past reads and even a few reviews from the man himself.  According to GalleyCat you can comment on the books and Bill's reviews.  You may even be lucky enough to spark a little conversation from Bill.

JK Rowling Hates You and Your OTP

Let's talk about J. K. Rowling spitting all over my happy little Potter world.

According to NPR Rowling confessed in a recent interview that she regretted pairing my beloved ginger-headed Ron Weasley with Hermione Granger.

Rowling is quoted as saying, "I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment.  That's how it was conceived, really.  For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron."

Why?  Why would say that?  I think we can all agree that it would have been way too predictable if Harry and Hermione had ended up together.  That would have been boring.  The hero always gets the girl.  Let's face it there's nothing particularly charming or alluring about Harry.  He was the boy who lived and brave and cared for his friends.  The same could be said for Ron, except for the boy who lived part.  Ron was funny and a little klutzy.  Neither Ron nor Harry excelled in school. So realistically neither was a great match for Hermione but in the Potter world it works.

Let's face it Ron and Hermione were a compelling piece of drama unfolding.  It was a nice side story.  The fact that they were so different made it interesting.  Watching them grow up together and sort out all of those confusing dramatic angsty feelings was fun.  Ron getting jealous of Viktor, Hermione frustrated with his immature attitude.  Had it been harry it would have been boring.  They would have gotten along with little bumps in the road, except for the whole Voldemort deal.  It would have been cute watching them be shy at first but ultimately plain and uneventful.

Putting aside the typical hero gets the girl plot, why would an author speak ill about such beloved characters nearly seven years after the novels stopped?  Perhaps Rowling is trying to distance herself from the series that made her famous and wealthy.  If she wanted to anger and alienate fans then she may have succeeded.

From LA Times, "I know, I'm sorry," she said in the interview.  "I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that.  It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility.  Am I breaking people's hearts by saying this?  I hope not.”

Amazon Dodges Lawsuit from Ill Prepared Indie Booksellers

You may or may not have heard about the lawsuit against Amazon and the big Publishing houses.  I'm leaning towards not but that's ok because I'm going to tell you a little about it right.

Some whack-a-doodle indie booksellers decided to right the good fight and sue Amazon and six big publishing companies alleging that " by signing agreements that call for the use of DRM on e-books sold through the Kindle, the online retailer and the publishers have combined to restrict the sale of e-books."  According to Jim Milliot at Publishers Weekly the complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and stated that Amazon and the Publishers (Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, and Macmillan) signed contracts for the sale of ebooks with DRM that was,  "specifically designed to limit the use of digital content" to Kindle devices.

Makes sense right?  Looking at the ebook market and deals with publishers I could see how one would jump to that conclusion.  However, to go as far as to take the matter to court they must have had indisputable proof.  A Recording of a shady backroom conversation between the big guys making deals that would screw over the independents.  But apparently not.

Federal Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the claim that the Big Six and Amazon conspired to keep independent competition from selling ebooks.  

As stated in his ruling via GalleyCat:

"The evasiveness of this allegation is remarkable.  Plaintiffs do not allege an unlawful agreement, only vague ‘oral discussions or agreements regarding the use of restrictive DRM.’  Plaintiffs do not even allege that any such discussions or agreements actually occurred, only that they may have occurred.  And plaintiffs do not specify who participated in these hypothetical discussions or agreements, only that they may have involved ‘one or more’ of the Publishers and Amazon."

That's right.  They went to court without a shred of evidence.  Nothing.  How did it even get this far with just accusations?  Seems the judge really had no choice but to dismiss.  As an independent I'd have liked to support their efforts but when you have no proof you lose a lot of credibility.  Maybe they had something that isn't being released or something that was buried by the publishers.  Or maybe the judge was paid off.  Probably not but might make for a decent story.