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“As a trade body the Publishers Association is rightly precluded from offering opinions on the commercial details of publisher members’ contracts or the terms on which they remunerate authors. So the details of the issue which the Society of Authors have raised in its publicised correspondence must remain the preserve of conversations with publishers. However, I can hopefully proffer the following observations without falling foul of competition law.
Following the Sieghart Review into e-lending which reported this February, it had been hoped that the period of megaphone diplomacy and policy by press release was behind us. Sieghart pointed towards a period of considered conversation when it came to driving towards e-lending solutions. Following the report we have begun along that road, with successful exploratory meetings held between publishers, libraries and the Society of Authors (and of course the anti-trust legal team present). I sincerely hope that we are not, already, seeing a reversion to the previous method of communicating views.
When member companies correspond with anyone, it is generally to be expected that this correspondence remain confidential. The expectation should surely always be that unless specifically agreed by both parties, letters do not find their way into the public domain. In a week in which yet again the privacy of personal data has made global headlines it is ironic that two publisher members find themselves at the centre of this sort of treatment.
The PA and its member companies will continue to engage in debate, dialogue and discussion with all parties as to the best means to ensure e-lending becomes a widespread reality. The sustainability and fairness for authors, libraries, bookshops aggregators and—yes publishers too—will be the central focus of these conversations.
One thing seems clear; if solutions are to be found they are more likely to emerge in an atmosphere of mutual trust, not in one where we are fearful of leaks and spin.”
Richard Mollet is chief executive of the Publishers Association.
See the original story 'SoA chief sparks e-book row' here.