APA survey finds Australian prices ‘often cheaper’
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) says the results of its most recent comparative survey of book prices in Australia and overseas ‘again shows the weakness in the arguments of those...
Quote of the week
‘The impact of the open market in New Zealand has been somewhat muted by the Australian conditions, but the introduction of an open market there could cause multi-national publishers to...
APA, ASA launch website in territorial copyright campaign
The Australian Publishers Association (APA), Australian Society of Authors (ASA), Australian Literary Agents' Association (ALAA) and the Printing Industries Association of Australia have launched a new website as part of...
APA welcomes ABA change of position on parallel importation
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) has said it will closely study the proposals put by the Australian Bookseller's Association's (ABA) in its submission to the Productivity Commission for changes to the...
A reader responds to the Productivity Commission submissions
Pat Woolley, director of Wild & Woolley/Fast Books, writes: ‘I am astounded at the great submissions to the productivity commission that have been written by so many writers, printers, publishers,...
Quote of the week
‘The proponents of the current protectionist regime rely on inaccurate, often emotive arguments including the alleged number of Australian titled books produced in Australia. The Chief Executive Officer of the...
ABA changes position to oppose open market
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) has changed its position on the question of an open market, recommending Australia retain its territorial copyright. ‘The management committee met through December and decided in...
Quote of the week
'Going through all this again is torture for the trade. Old warriors are hiding behind remainder bins. Industry heads are speechless with disbelief and boredom. Only Dymocks--with 96 stores and...
Quote of the week
‘If the Government truly believed literacy could be improved by dropping book prices, it could simply remove the GST. Everyone happy: authors, publishers, retailers, consumers. Too easy'--Malcolm Knox writing in...
Quote of the week
'Mr Carr's claims on price are both misleading and spurious. Comparing the GST-inclusive ARP with a freight-free, heavily discounted, GST-free Amazon price is a gross misrepresentation of the pricing of...
Parallel importation study attracts submissions, media coverage
As the deadline for submissions to the Productivity Commission study into parallel importation legislation draws closer, several authors have made submissions. Kate Grenville, Tony Wilson, Tom Keneally, Nick Earls, Pamela...
Burgess responds to Carr
Chris Burgess, general manager of national buying group Leading Edge Books, responds to Bob Carr's Australian article: 'While Bob Carr's argument that cheap books = more books in Australian homes...
Trade responds to Bob Carr on parallel importation
Bob Carr, the former NSW premier and current Dymocks board member, wrote an article for the Australian on 13 December entitled 'On the Case for Cheaper Books.'Beginning with the rhetorical...
Parallel importation
Finally, while we had the ear of so many booksellers and publishers from around the nation, we thought we'd take the opportunity to ask everyone (anonymously of course!), which of...
Leading Edge meetings ‘unanimous’:retain copyright–with modifications
Leading Edge Books members who attended the three information sessions hosted by the buying group in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, have come to a ‘unanimous position' on the current parallel...
Sylvan to remain on Productivity Commission study; Banks responds to industry concern
Productivity Commission chair Gary Banks has responded to industry concerns about the appointment of commissioner Louise Sylvan to the commission's study of parallel importation laws, declaring Sylvan ‘will remain attached...
Industry response to Issues Paper; APA, ASA, printers call for Commissioner Sylvan to step down
The Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA) has criticised the Issues Paper released by the Productivity Commission as part of its study into Australia's parallel book importation laws last week.‘We...
Quote of the week
'The thoughts behind this issues paper come from people who obviously do not read Australian authors, have contempt for their works and would prefer all Australians to read only foreign...
Productivity Commission issues paper released
The Productivity Commission today released its issues paper on ‘copyright restrictions on the parallel importation of books', as part of its study commissioned by the federal government. The issues paper...
Publishers, booksellers respond to Productivity Commission terms of reference
The Australian Publishers Association has declared it will be ‘very vocal in seeking to maintain the 1991 reforms to copyright laws', following the release last Friday of the Productivity Commission's...