UK Society of Authors issues ‘Brexit Briefing’
The UK's Society of Authors (SoA) has issued a report outlining the vulnerabilities faced by the UK's creative industries during the government's Brexit negotiations, reports Publishers Weekly. Representing 10,500 members,...
EU Parliament approves digital copyright reforms
In France, the European Parliament has voted in favour of copyright reforms that aim to update digital copyright laws for the internet age. The legislation supports Europe’s creative industries and...
Organisations warn EU on treaty for library copyright exceptions
International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) has written an open letter to European Commission President José Barroso and the European Union Parliament highlighting the dangers of a treaty on copyright...
Amazon, Apple and Google must pay UK taxes from 2015
Multinational corporations such as Amazon, Apple and Google will no longer be able to avoid paying 20% value-added tax (VAT) on online sales within the UK after the government legislates to close...
Survey shows 23% of European shoppers buy books online
In Europe, a survey has found that close to a quarter of Europeans have bought books or magazines online in the past year, reports the Bookseller. Eurostat, the statistical office...
French and German book trades call for government ebook policy
In France and Germany, publishers and booksellers associations are calling for their national governments to implement a policy to protect the ebook trade from big retailers, reports the Bookseller. At...
European booksellers warn against closed ebook ‘ecosystems’
European booksellers have urged the European Commission to act over big retailers’ use of closed ebook ‘ecosystems’, reports the Bookseller. At the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) conference held...
EU clears Penguin Random House merger
The European Commission has cleared the proposed merger of Penguin and Random House. The commission announced its decision in a statement on 5 April, saying that ‘the transaction would not...
European Commission urges industry to embrace digital publishing
Neelie Kroes, vice president of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, has warned that the European market will fall behind if digital publishing is not embraced, reports the Inquirer....
EU Competition Commission reaches agreement with Apple, publishers in agency pricing investigation
The European Union Competition Commission has reached agreements with Apple and four publishers that will involve the parties modifying or terminating their agency pricing agreements. However, the Bookseller reports that it...
Apple, four publishers, to settle in EU antitrust case
As reported by the Bookseller, Apple and four publishers under investigation by the EU Competition Commission regarding ebook pricing have made proposals to ‘reach an early resolution of the case’,...