Let’s take a look at the most important Publishing News around the world.
Bulletin N°2
The Publishing Guide
UK Government pauses copyright law changes
One of the biggest publishing news of last year was that Boris Jhonson government was considering rewriting the copyright and trade laws of the UK. This potential change is what triggered the “Save Our Books” campaign in which many associations participated to stop this initiative. Luckily, on January 19, The Guardian reported that the government has paused its plan to change the copyright laws.
According to the Guardian’s article, the government argues that due to the lack of data, it was impossible to calculate the economic impact of changes to the copyright law. For now, this is a piece of positive news for the UK publishing industry.
This article appeared first in The Guardian. Click here to read it!
European Union Parliament votes in favor of Digital Services Act
The Digital Services Act is a regulation that will hopefully create some limits for all tech companies. This legislation is Europe’s way to fight against misinformation and disinformation. The goal is to create a safe environment for all online consumers. Plus, make sure that illegal activities are penalized on and offline.
When it comes to the book publishing industry, the key point we should look at is, book piracy. In this regard, the Act will protect the content of all small publishers, making sure that online services eliminate all types of illegal content.
The version of the act that was approved will hold accountable all online services that have illegal content (in book publishing, that would mean anything infringing copywriting laws).
Read the original article here.
Benefits for Poland’s authors
New Poland Bill will create the Chamber of Artists, which will allow writers to register as professionals. This means they can access pensions, social security, health insurance and more.
High demand for books TV rights
We are in the middle of a boom for all streaming services. That means book adaptations are in high demand for films and TV series. Right now, 60% of TV projects are based on books.
Ethnicity pay gap report from HC
HarperCollins has released its ethnicity pay gap report and promises more diversity for senior roles. Overall, it showed that there is an ethnicity pay gap of 8.2% and a lack of minority employees.
Update: 11-years of Canadian copyright crisis
The Canadian copyright crisis that started with the Copyright Modernization Act of 2012, is not close to an end after Canada’s Cultural Minister Pablo Rodriguez postponed the International Authors Forum. This disastrous legislation is now referred to as the “Canadian flu.”
This copyright law is what has resulted in a loss of US $158 million of licensing revenue for English Canadian publishers. On the other hand, the French-language publishers got a positive settlement in 2018. But the crisis keeps deepening for English publishers.
To read the complete article in Publishing Perspectives, click here! For January follow up, learn more here!
Festival du Livre de Paris
Pari’s book fair, which was shut down for two years due to COVID, is now back and has re-branded to Festival du Livre de Paris. According to the dates announced, the festival will run from April 22 to 24 at Grand Palais Ephémère.
This year’s guest of honor will be India. Plus, to keep everybody safe, several exhibitions will be outdoors. Read the article here.