Open Road Integrated Media, the digital publisher cofounded by former HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman in 2009, has acquired E-Reads, the ebook publisher founded by literary agent Richard Curtis in 1999. E-Reads has published over 1,200 titles, most of which are science fiction and fantasy.

“As I recently surveyed the state of the industry, it became apparent that it was time to seek an alliance with a company with greater resources, particularly in the all-important area of marketing,” Curtis said in a statement. Open Road, which has published over 4,000 titles, centers its business around digital marketing and has published books by authors like William Styron, Michael Chabon, Sherman Alexie and Alice Walker as ebooks for the first time.

E-Reads authors include Harlan Ellison, sci-fi author Greg Bear and mystery author Barbara Parker. Open Road has partnered with other publishers to market their ebooks, but this is its first straight acquisition…

View original post 43 more words

Apple stuck with antitrust monitor after appeals court refuses removal request

11 February 2014 by particularkev

Gigaom

A federal appeals court has refused to stay an order that imposes an antitrust monitor on Apple, despite the company’s complaints that the monitor has been conducting an illegal roving investigation.

In a ruling published on Monday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that the dispute came down to a disagreement over what the monitor was empowered to do, and adopted the Justice Department’s position that the monitor was limited to verifying whether Apple was informing its employees about their duty to comply with an anti-trust order from last year.

The original order imposing the monitor came as part of a larger decision last year in which a New York federal judge concluded that Apple had violated antitrust laws by brokering an illegal conspiracy with publishers to fix the price of ebooks.

Apple, which is appealing the overall decision, has accused the monitor, Michael Bromwich, of starting his duties…

View original post 185 more words