Advocacy

This afternoon, New York Federal Judge Denise Cote issued an order entering as a final judgment the DOJ’s proposed settlement agreement with Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster in the e-books antitrust litigation. This means that the three settling publishers are required to terminate all of their agency agreements and any agreement that restricts an e-book retailer’s discretion over pricing as soon as allowed under contract, typically, on 30 days’ notice.

ABFFE has released a new video urging bookstores to join the national read-out from banned books that will be featured on YouTube during Banned Books Week, from September 30 to October 6.

On Wednesday, August 22, the Department of Justice filed a reply memorandum with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in which it dismissed arguments made in the latest round of filings regarding the proposed e-book pricing settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster.

Trouble often arrives out of a clear blue sky, even during the lazy days of August. For three booksellers, trouble recently arrived in the form of First Amendent emergencies. ABFFE President Chris Finan explains how each dealt with the unexpected.

The push for sales tax fairness in California and Pennsylvania, which came to a head in 2011, will bear fruit next month.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is providing a variety of tools for booksellers who want to join in the celebration of the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, from September 30 - October 6.

On Monday, August 6, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Denise Cote allowed the joint request by ABA and Barnes & Noble to file an amicus brief in regard to the Department of Justice’s proposed consent decree affecting publishers’ pricing of e-books and the agency model.

Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, has compiled some key points from a growing body of research that shows scale and ownership of business matter in ways that extend far beyond economic outcomes.

ABFFE is seeking donations of original children’s art for an online auction that will be conducted during this year’s celebration of Banned Books Week, from September 30 - October 6.

On Tuesday, July 24, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary held a full committee hearing on the Marketplace Equity Act (H.R. 3179), which seeks to level the playing field in regard to the equitable collection of sales tax for online purchases.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression wants to help booksellers participate in the Internet read-out that will be the centerpiece of this year’s Banned Books Week, from September 29 - October 6.

On Tuesday, July 24, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will hold a full committee hearing on the Marketplace Equity Act (H.R. 3179). Booksellers are urged to contact their representatives to voice support for the e-fairness bill.

With a House hearing on the Marketplace Equity Act less than two weeks away, booksellers are urged to contact their representatives to ask for their support of the sales tax fairness bill.

On behalf of the ABA Board, association CEO Oren Teicher thanks the hundreds of booksellers who wrote to the Department of Justice during the public comment period regarding the proposed consent decree in the e-book pricing suit — and calls on DOJ to publish the comments well ahead of the court-ordered deadline. 

As the July 1 deadline for Amazon to begin collecting sales tax in Texas approached, a number of newspapers across the country published editorials declaring that the time had come for sales tax fairness.