05:34 AM by gbm in E-Book General | News

following the death of Publisher and author Eric Flint.

Full statement at:

https://ringoffirepress.com/

bernie

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Gosh we've talked a lot this week. Here's your weekly round up of MobileRead's events.

E-Book General - News

• RIP Eric Flint

04:07 PM by Critteranne in E-Book General | News

His death has been announced on social media.
For example, here is a post from Robert J. Sawyer.

Without him, there would have been no Baen Free Library. Not to mention Ring of Fire anthologies. And Ring of Fire Press.

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

We know, you're busy. You'd like nothing more than to keep up with the witty kids at MobileRead live and in real-time but, it's tough. We understand. Here is our weekly round-up:

E-Book General - News

• Maryland Ebook Licensing Law Ruled Unconstitutional

09:50 AM by astrangerhere in E-Book General | News

From Rueters (emphasis added):

Maryland ebook licensing law is unconstitutional, U.S. court rules

A federal court in Baltimore ruled Monday that a Maryland law requiring book publishers to offer public libraries reasonable licenses to ebooks and digital audiobooks is unconstitutional.

In a victory for the Association of American Publishers, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said that the law violates publishers' protections under the federal Copyright Act.

AAP, the book publishing industry's national trade group, won an order pausing the law in February. Boardman said at the time that the first-of-its-kind statute likely interfered with the publishers' right to decide how to distribute their works.

Legislatures in states including Massachusetts, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri and Rhode Island have been considering laws similar to Maryland's. AAP President Maria Pallante said in a Monday statement that the decision and New York Governor Kathy Hochul's veto of a similar bill last year because of constitutional concerns "sends a two-fold message to other legislatures being similarly lobbied: there is nothing judicious about undermining authors or the viability of an independent publishing industry.”

The Maryland attorney general's office declined to comment.

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Ok kids, time for the weekly roundup of what we've covered this week:

E-Book Readers - Amazon Kindle

• Amazon China Kindle Store will stop operation on June 30, 2023

11:31 AM by AlaVander in E-Book Readers | Amazon Kindle

Today, I received an e-mail notice titled "notice on operation adjustment of China Kindle Store" sent by Amazon China, which said that China Kindle Store would stop operation on June 30, 2023.

You can read this email through the browser's translation plugin.

https://www.amazon.cn/b/ref=s9_acss_...rd_i=116169071

Some people think that pressure from content moderation may have led Amazon to make this decision, but I don't think so. In fact, only the books that have obtained the publication number in China can publish the electronic version, and this work is done by the publishing house, and Amazon China is only responsible for the distribution of the content.

Of course, the remaining reason is that Amazon no longer wants to take losses. Both the ecology and competitive teammates of the Chinese market may be the reasons for its losses. Although people's copyright awareness is gradually improving, but it is undeniable that piracy is still common.

In addition, Kindle China's biggest competitor, Wechat Read, has acquired millions of active users in just a few years through a series of initiatives such as free reading, better user experience, and mixed social attributes.

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Ok kids, time for the weekly roundup of what we've covered this week:

E-Book Readers - Amazon Kindle

• Older Kindles losing store access in August