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Israel has drawn up a draft law which would make it illegal to sell books on a 3-for-1 promotion, in order to protect the author’s income.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the law will make it illegal for booksellers to put any titles in the multi-book promotion for the first 18 months after publication, as well as stating that for the first 18 months authors will receive a minimum 8% royalty for the first 6,000 books sold, and royalties of at least 10% for all books sold after that.
The newspaper said the bill follows the entreaties of leading authors and publishers saying that the competition between the major bookstore chains—Tzomet Sfarim and Steimatzky—undercuts author royalties and threatens the viability of publishing houses.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said: “As the People of the Book, we are committed to maintaining the income of the authors who create our cultural treasures. The law creates the right balance between the aspiration that books not be a item and that everyone be able to enjoy the experience of reading, and the need to protect authors and their works.”