The Culture Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Poland have joined together to campaign for the EC to charge the same VAT for ebook sales as print.
#ThatIsNotABook: How to Campaign to Lower European Ebook VAT
France’s Syndicat National de l’Edition (SNE) has launched a social media campaign to encourage readers to support the fight for a lower VAT on ebooks.
European Publishers Meet with EC, Endorse Single Market for E-books
Bold-faced names in European publishing met in Brussels with the EC, where they signed a single market declaration favoring open borders for e-books.
Price Fixing vs Fixed Prices: Europe’s Emerging E-book Quagmire
On Monday, the European Commission investigated several French publishers for illegal e-book price fixing, this in a country with fixed book prices. Ironic, hypocritical…or merely confusing? By Edward Nawotka Yesterday we learned from a dozen news sources that on March 1 several European publishing houses were “raided” by European Commission officials in search of evidence of price fixing among e-book …
Does Europe Need a Single Open Market for E-books?
By Edward Nawotka As discussed in today’s lead story, European laws governing the sale of books vary wildly from country to country, often favoring print over e-books. Many of the major markets have fixed book pricing and part of the reasoning behind fixed book prices is that it allows all retailers to compete on a level playing field when it …
Should the EC Legislate Clearances for Digital Book Rights?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story looks at a new report from the European Commission about the status of orphan works — books, films, et al. — and what must be done to streamline rights clearances. The EC is famous for issuing rules and regulations for all manner of minutiae (the noise limit of lawnmowers, for example). Should it have a …
Will Europe’s Three Million Orphan Books Ever Be Digitized?
By Edward Nawotka • The EC has determined there are three million orphan books in Europe and the cost of clearing digital rights is costly, often far higher than digitization itself. • One solution might be Europe-wide collective licensing agreements modeled on those currently in use in Scandinavia. BRUSSELS: The issue of orphan books –- those books with no clear …