PA Bulletin: 4th June 2012
PA Bulletin: 4th June 2012
PA News and Events
CEO Update
Speaking at the Westminster Media Forum last week I outlined the role which publishers will still play in the digital age; providing support to authors and researchers through financial, creative and marketing & distribution skills. I also noted that there was increasingly a political role in standing up for copyright and defending it against those who advocate the erosion or outright theft of copyright. Pointing out that the Open Rights Group and Pirate Party often engage in inaccurate and hyperbolic briefings ironically brought forward a procession of, well, inaccurate and hyperbolic briefings about the remarks. I had the opportunity to engage in further debate with the Pirate Party on Radio Litopia – the internet radio station.
Appointment of Anshika Jha, IP attaché in India
Following the appointment of a UK IP attaché in Beijing (Tom Duke), BIS have announced a second attaché to be based in Delhi, India. Anshika Jha is based in the British High Commission in Delhi and will be a great resource for UK businesses, including publishers on IP issues. For the full announcement, please see http://news.bis.gov.uk/Press-Releases/Second-IP-attach%C3%A9-appointed-to-support-UK-businesses-in-India-67a5f.aspx
Copyright Amendment Bill (2010) – India
Further news from Delhi is that the long awaited Copyright Amendment Bill (2010) has finally been passed through both the Upper and Lower houses of the Indian Parliament. The publishing industry previously had concerns that the Bill would contain an amendment that would remove territorial protection for books both coming into India and flowing out from India, potentially causing damage to the industry. It has been confirmed that the amendment was dropped in the final Bill, however there has been a referral to a Committee of the NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research), to look at the desirability/feasibility of allowing parallel imports. The Committee is due to give a report to the Minister of HRD Mr. Sibal by September to decide if further action is needed. The PA and Association of Publishers of India (API) will be liaising with this committee.
Savings in Schools Procurement
PA, EPC and Children’s Book Group members including Badger, Hachette Children’s Books, Raintree, Rising Stars and Scholastic held an informal meeting this week with a member of the schools procurement team from the Department for Education’s Commercial Division in Sheffield. The team have the job of identifying £1billion savings from DfE expenditure, including spending on books and curriculum material. They asked the PA for help in understanding the nature of school supply.
The Department lacks detailed data on recent school expenditure in this area, but their hope is to identify initiatives to encourage schools to buy more efficiently. Publishers present explained the fragmented nature of school supply for textbooks and books for school libraries, and highlighted the added value provided by publishers and the link between expenditure on books and educational outcome. The experience of publishers is that the arrival of academies and free schools has further increased competition between suppliers and that schools are adept at commercial negotiation on pricing. The DfE team welcomed an offer from the School Library Association for a visit to a exemplar school library service to see how the model of lending to groupings of schools rather than individual purchase might help them.
Digital Publishing Forum: Legal issues – their impact on publishing, 27 June, UCL, 4-6pm
Registration will open shortly for the fourth Digital Publishing Forum of the year, on Legal Issues: their impact on publishing. Speakers will be Laurie Kaye of Laurence Kaye Solicitors and PA Copyright Counsel Hugh Jones. Chaired by Anthony Watkinson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Information Studies, UCL, this event will explore the forces applying pressure for legal change that will impact on publishing. Hugh and Laurie will cover hot topics like Hargreaves and copyright, DCE and the Linked Content Coalition, enforcement and Legal Deposit, and take a look at how the legal landscape might affect publishing in two years’ time. Further information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Istanbul Book Fair: 17 – 20 November 2012
Turkey is one of the countries on UK Trade & Investment’s Emerging Markets and High Growth target list and will be the Market Focus at next year’s London Book Fair. The PA is looking at organising a UK collective stand at this year’s Istanbul Book Fair for those who like to learn more about the market. For more information, please contact Gloria Bailey ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
Bookbuzz List Announced
Booktrust have announced the 17 titles selected for the inaugural Bookbuzz scheme, the successor scheme to Booked Up, the national bookgifting scheme for Year 7s in England. Seven of the nine publishers involved this year are PA members. The new scheme retains the element of choice which made Booked Up so successful , but schools will now have to pay £2.50 per pupil to be part of the scheme and must register by 20 July.
General News and Events
ALPSP courses/seminars/webinars
Training - Taking eBooks to Market, London 14 June
Training - Licensing your content, London 19 June
Training - Online Communities and Opportunities, London 27 June
Training - Introduction to Journals Marketing, London 3rd July
Training - Fundamentals of Journals Finance, London 11th July
Seminar - Beyond the rhetoric: New opportunities in open access, London 20th November
Creative industries funding opportunity - Low Carbon Innovation Fund gets creative! 18 June 2012
The Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF), operated by the Adapt Low Carbon Group at the University of East Anglia will be celebrating an unmissable opportunity for the creative industries at an event on 18 June in Colchester. A recent expansion of the Fund means that over £30m of venture capital funding (from public, European Regional Development Fund, and private sources) will be invested into a range of businesses in the East of England working to reduce carbon emissions and grow their businesses. The event will be a great opportunity for creative businesses and those who work with them to find out more about the Fund, meet the Fund Managers, lawyers and accountants and to network with key people from the sector. There will be a number of presentations and seminar sessions during the afternoon followed by networking and drinks. To find out more and register (by Friday 8th June at 5pm) to attend the event, sign up here: http://lowcarboninnovationfundgetscreative.eventbrite.com
BIC’s Summer “New Trends” Seminar – registration now open
BIC is holding its annual Summer “New Trends” Seminar at the RIBA, London, on 20th June (2pm – 5.30pm). This is a forward looking afternoon event for the publishing industry; with an emphasis what impact these trends might have on the supply chain (both physical & digital). Excellent speakers are lined up from Anobii, Faber & Faber, Flooved, Duncan Baird Publishers (on DRM free e-books), the RNIB, Macmillan Distribution etc… To register and find out more about the speakers please visit the BIC website: http://www.bic.org.uk/34/Events-and-Presentations/ Cost per person: £75 (plus VAT) for BIC members/£110 (plus VAT) for non-BIC members.
Copyright and
Technology: London 2012 Conference
Music
Ally is pleased to be a partner in bringing the successful US based Copyright
and Technology conference event to the UK for the first time in June. The
conference has built up a reputation in the US as a high level platform and
forum for debate bringing the copyright and technology industries together. The
one-day event takes place in London on 19 June and
will cover technologies including DRM, conditional access, content
identification and online rights licensing, as well as current legal
developments including disputes between content providers and search engines,
and potential developments in copyright legislation. There will be a morning
plenary session as well as two separate tracks on technology and law &
policy in the afternoon. For the full agenda visit: http://copyrightandtechnology.com/ct-london-2012-conference/.
Tickets can be purchased at:http://copyrightandtechnologylondon.eventbrite.co.uk/.
Members of the Publishers Association receive a 15% discount on any ticket
type. Please use the code PA15, or click this link:http://copyrightandtechnologylondon.eventbrite.com/?discount=PA15
'Publishing apps - what's the story?'; 26 June 2012
'Publishing apps - what's the story?' is the second in a series of events from the new apps business information service The Appside. The evening event considers the world of book publishing apps and will feature a showcase of some of the most recent and unreleased book apps from leading book apps developers; include practical tips on marketing and discoverability of apps from the consultancy responsible for promoting Apple's iBooks platform; offer statistical insight into apps consumption trends apps; and hear leading publishers discuss the business models and economics around publishing apps. This event will take place at Deloitte Auditorium, New Street Square, London, EC4A 3BZ from 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday 26th June. To see the list of confirmed speakers and register for the event, please visit: http://www.theappside.com/publishing-apps-whats-the-story/ The cost of attendance is £70 + VAT but The PA has secured a 15% discount for our members. The discount code is PA15 and can be applied here.
ALPSP Webinar, 26 June, 2-3.30pm: Authoring and Collaboration Tools: What are they, and why should I care?
Expansion of digital storage and access to the web has significantly increased researchers' options around project management, data set storage and manuscript writing. This webinar will look at some of the key research collaboration tools available, from blogs, social citation sharing and open lab books to collaborative authoring, ask what publishers can and should be doing with them, and explore how they affect publishers’ workflows. Further information: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
CMI Management Book of the Year competition
The CMI (Chartered Management Institute) has launched this year’s CMI Management Book of the Year competition, in association with the British Library. Last year’s winner of the £5000 prize was The Cult of the Leader by Christopher Bones, published by John Wiley. The competition is open to management books published between 1st August 2011 and 31st July 2012. For more details, including how to enter, please go to www.managementbookoftheyear.org.uk. The deadline for entries is 29th June 2012.