[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

PS. Actual IP/Publishing specialist lawyer's informal analysis of the HC vs Open Road case and the implications on his blog: "Who Controls eBook Rights? - The Court Battle that Could Determine the Fate of the Book Industry:A Review & Analysis"

Well worth a read, IMHO.

Understatement.
One thing jumped out at me: the courts have held that movies broadcast on TV can be considered an "exhibition" or "distribution" but that Video-cassette (and DVD, BD, etc) were not a comparable right under even broad interpretations of contract language because the latter were typically sold or rented to individuals (and not provided as a service to groups over public venues).

Ding. Ding. Fracking ding!

Harper Collins just opened the Pandora's box of ebook ""sale" vs "license".
If Open Road's lawyer wants to go down that road the issue of the 50-50 license royalty split pops in.
As does the fact that DRM'ed ebooks are not an actual sale of a physical product as was typical in 1971 but a license to view. Movie vs video-cassette in reverse.

As we've all known for years, DRM'ed ebooks *are* a different, separate product.

Now I *really* want this thing to go to trial.
Which means it'll get settled out of court in short order as I doubt either side wants the box opened publicly.
It does, however, explain why HC sued OpenRoad rather than the author or her agent. (Aside from the poaching aspect of an ex-HC exec going after what HC considers one of *their* serfs.)