That's our philosophical thought of the day after reading this cease-and-desist letter sent to Hachette Book Group's general counsel (and TMZ) by an attorney representing Jordan. Tags: Books Copyright By Eriq Gardner Vampires are obviously parasites. But what about authors of vampire novels? MORE >>

Not surprisingly, the William Morris Endeavor talent agency has advised its clients--twice--to opt out of the Google Books settlement: "There is an important right that is relinquished under the terms of the Settlement that the Authors Guild does not adequately address. done so within twenty-seven months from the Notice Commencement Date." MORE >>

to move forward with its plan to scan millions of books and make them available on an online database. Most of the controversy surrounds so-called “orphan works,&# which refers to out-of-print books still under copyright. However, as the September 4 deadline draws near, more and more opponents of the deal are speaking up. MORE >>

Google's Book Search: A Disaster for Scholars. We've become accustomed to librarians and academics uncritically fawning over the disaster that is Google Books (especially those privileged librarians among the sovereign ly immune), yet give this one by Professor Geoffrey Nunberg a read: "Start with publication dates. book on Peter F. MORE >>

The aptly named “Big Brother Class” in the complaint further alleges that not only did Amazon delete e-books without its customers’ knowledge or consent, but it also deleted any electronic notes made by those customers. Amazon.com’s efforts to prevent copyright infringement have landed it in hot water. A to view, use and display. MORE >>