Issues at stake for booksellers, Presentation by Tim Godfray, C.E.O. of the B.A. of U.K and Ireland, on behalf of EBF
Hearing on Digital Publishing, Economic and Social Committee, 30 November 2011.
On 24 May, EBF, FEP and EWC organized a reading in the library of the European Parliament with Noemi Szecsi, one of the winners of the European Union Prize for Literature 2009.
Noemi read in Hungarian, her native language and also in English. Ms Herczog underlined the importance of celebrating cultural and linguistic diversity and was delighted to see Noemi celebrated during the Hungarian Presidency of the EU.
Hargreaves review of copyright welcomed by BA
The Booksellers Association (BA) today welcomed the conclusions and recommendations of Professor Hargreaves’ report, Digital Opportunity – A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, which correlates with the BA/European Booksellers Federation’s Statement of Principles on Copyright[1].
Sydney Davies (Head of Trade & Industry) said: “The BA and the bookselling industry have long supported innovation in e-commerce and digitisation. This report will create a solid framework, backed by the protection of intellectual property rights, around which there will be scope for further opportunities in the creation and dissemination of digital content. The Government should take forward these proposals as soon as possible to help underpin that opportunity.”
Of the report’s ten recommendations, the BA is especially pleased that Professor Hargreaves has ruled out a US style ‘Fair Use’ for copyright. The BA welcomes the proposal that the Government should set up a Digital Copyright Exchange; so too the need to give continuing support for the enforcement of copyright and, most importantly, that there should be legislation to enable Orphan Works to be licensed exactly along the lines the BA has been advocating.
New proposals for commercial models are always welcome, providing rights holders are given the option to participate or not.
The BA’s call for a simple way to interrogate databases of rights holders so that copyrighted works (including Orphan Works) can be identified – and be subject to a diligent search to find rights holders – is reflected in the proposal to establish a Digital Copyright Exchange and, secondly, the proposal that the UK should support moves by the European Commission for a framework for cross border copyright licensing. The BA very much supports the EU’s ARROW project[2], which the BA believes will help to bring this about.
The BA has advocated that Orphan Works should be covered by licensing agreements under public control and administered by rights holders or their appointed collecting societies, and that licenses for commercial exploitation of Orphan Works should be open to any applicant. The BA believes, moreover, that any monies collected not claimed should be held for a period of time before being donated to literacy charities.
The report states that the Government should legislate to enable the licensing of Orphan Works, including extended collective licensing for mass licensing and a clearance procedure for the use of individual works. Furthermore, any fees paid should be held by the collecting society running the scheme until the owner is identified, or a reasonable period of time elapses, in which case the monies should be used for social or
cultural purposes.
Continuing emphasis on the enforcement of IP rights is absolutely the right approach to end the mass piracy of copyrighted works. The BA would like to see Government and rights holders working collectively together to promote the value of copyright through a public education programme. The BA and booksellers would be more than happy to participate in such a programme.
Further information from:
Sydney Davies (Head of Trade & Industry)
sydney.davies@booksellers.org.uk
Tel: 0207 802 0805
[1] EBF Statement of Principles on Copyright – http://www.booksellers.org.uk/Industry-Info/Industry-Reports/Legal/Copyright—BA-Statement-of-Principles.aspx
[2] ARROW – www.arrow-net.eu
Brussels, 18th June 2010 – 45 Booksellers and representatives of Booksellers’ Associations’ from the 5 continents met during the past 2 days in Brussels to discuss trends in the book industry, to exchange views on the adaptations made necessary by digitisation, to hear how other industries were coping with new business models and to learn how to play an active role in the EU decision-making process.
This year’s EBF-IBF Annual Conference “Breaking the rules to survive” took place partly in Brussels, at the heart of the European quarter, and partly in Antwerp. The event was co-organised by the European and International Booksellers Federations and by the Flemish Booksellers Association, Member of Boek.be. Prior to the conference, our Flemish colleagues had also hosted the International Congress of Young Booksellers (ICYB), a 3-day workshop, which attracted young booksellers from all over Europe. The Annual Conference opened with a joint EBF/IBF/ICYB welcome dinner, a unique occasion for over 70 booksellers and representatives to meet, mingle and network.
Key note speaker of the EBF/IBF Conference was Kelly Gallagher, Vice-President of the American company Bowker, provider of bibliographic information. In his presentation “The consumer demand chain – thriving in the New World Publishing Order”, he explained how the traditional business model of the book supply chain was being reversed upside down into a consumer driven model, where more and more stakeholders play ever evolving roles and where new opportunities can arise for booksellers. On Friday, a similar message was delivered by Geert Joris, Director of Boek.be, who also spoke about the changing roles for all the stakeholders in the book chain and the need for booksellers to rethink their position in this changing environment.
Fergal Tobin, newly elected President of the Federation of European Publishers and the Director, Anne Bergman, explained their work priorities and stressed again the key importance of a correct protection of copyright for the well being of the whole book chain. Other areas of potential collaboration between FEP and EBF were also mentioned for further consideration. In the same vein, Kurt van Damme, Legal Advisor of boek.be and Managing Director of the Flemish Collecting Society RUIT, as well as Vice-President of Reprobel, the Belgian Collecting Society, stressed once again that copyright was essential and gave a thorough overview of the different – bad and good- methods to fight online piracy.
Booksellers had decided to open the floor to other industries which have also been undergoing major changes in the online environment and listened with great attention to Olivia Regnier, Deputy Director of IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) speaking about the music industry’s experience as well as to Michel de Blust, Secretary General of ECTAA (European Travel Agents’ & Tour Operators’ Associations) who both explained how they had to radically revisit their business models because of the fierce competition of online sales.
Ann Branch, Head of Unit of the European Commission’s DG Education and Culture, gave an
overview of the measures in favour of the book industry promoted by the Commission and was eager to hear booksellers’ points of view regarding the involvement of bookshops in the promotion of European literature and the European Union Literature Prize. Delegates were further introduced to the complexity of EU decision-making and the role of Permanent Representations in Brussels by Johanna Hulkko, Counselor for cultural issues at the Finnish Permanent Representation.
Prior to the professional conference, EBF and IBF held a joint General Assembly during which Inara Belinkaja, bookseller from Latvia, was confirmed as the new IBF President for the period 2010-2013. President of EBF until 2011 is John McNamee, bookseller from Ireland and board member of the UK & Ireland Booksellers Association.
For further information, please contact eurobooks@skynet.be
Brussels, 06.01.2010
The European Booksellers Federation (EBF), the European Writers’ Council (EWC) and the Federation of European Publishers (FEP) are delighted to announce that they have been re-appointed by the European Commission, DG Education and Culture, as the consortium to organise the European Prize for Literature (EUPL) to be awarded in November 2010 to emerging authors from 11 countries participating in the EU Culture Programme.
The countries selected for 2010 are:
Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia. As a first step, the consortium will organise the setting up of juries in each of these countries. The juries will start their selection process as of January 2010 and deliver a final report to the consortium by the end of June 2010.
The aim of the EUPL is to put the spotlight on the creativity and diverse wealth of Europe’s contemporary literature, to promote the circulation of literature within Europe and encourage greater interest in non-national literary works.
In 2009, 12 prizes were awarded to emerging authors from the first set of countries, during a ceremony in Brussels celebrating the diversity of European literature in the presence of Commission President José Manuel Barroso, the Swedish bestselling author Henning Mankell (who had accepted the role of ‘Patron of the EUPL’ in 2009), Ms Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth (Minister of Culture Sweden), and Ms Doris Pack (MEP, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Education and Culture). In 2011, authors from the 12 remaining countries from the total of 35 participating in the EU Culture Programme will be eligible for the awards.
Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, said: ”The EU is a world super-power in culture. Our rich cultural diversity is a huge asset, and we must maximise our efforts to exploit it, to stimulate creativity, innovation and economic growth. The European Union Prize for Literature is an example of what can be done in this field, as it helps promote emerging European literary talents and showcase European culture.”
EBF President, John Mc Namee, commented: “EBF is delighted to be a player in this extremely valuable initiative which brings talented writers to the due attention of European readers across borders.”
EWC President, Pirjo Hiidenmaa, added: “The first edition of the EUPL has proven that the prize has the power to raise awareness about European contemporary literature and to open doors across Europe for emerging talents.”
FEP President, Federico Motta underlined the “central role of literature in our common European cultural heritage”, adding that the three partners “will draw on last year’s experience to ensure that this year’s prize – and the winning authors – will receive even greater visibility.”
Besides the setting up of the juries, the role of the consortium will be the co-ordination of the initiative and the practical organisation of the awards’ ceremony.
The EUPL is co-financed through the Culture Programme of the European Union. The programme supports trans-national cultural cooperation projects involving operators from a minimum of three different countries participating in the programme. It also provides specific support for the translation of literary works and is open to all cultural sectors except audiovisual, for which a separate programme exists
For further information:
About the Prize:
www.euprizeliterature.eu
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-programmes-and-actions/doc627_en.htm
About the Culture programme:
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/index_en.htm
About the organisers:
EBF: www.ebf-eu.org
FEP: www.fep-fee.eu
EWC: http://www.europeanwriters.eu/
The European Booksellers Federation (EBF) is the organisation representing national booksellers federations in Europe; its mission is to further the interests of booksellers throughout Europe (for more information http://www.ebf-eu.org/).
The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) is the organisation representing national publishers associations in Europe; its 26 member associations represent the vast majority of the European publishing sector (for more information http://www.fep-fee.eu).
In view of the current situation in Bulgaria and the decision to stop subsidising libraries in their acquisition of books, EBF and FEP insist that the widest access by all citizens to books is paramount and that this is best realised when citizens can acquire or borrow books from either bookshops or public libraries.
The financial support to public libraries must be balanced with sound regulatory and market conditions to allow a healthy publishing industry and booksellers’ network, sustaining a viable book sector.
Reading plays a crucial part in the knowledge society and, as a consequence, in disseminating culture and enhancing competitiveness and employment; governments should therefore pledge to support all stakeholders of the book sector through adequate cultural, fiscal and industrial policies.
New York 29-05-09. Over 30 booksellers from around the world gathered on 26 and 27 May in New York to attend the joint annual conference of the European and the International Booksellers Associations. EBF is the umbrella organisation of the national booksellers associations in Europe; IBF is its international equivalent comprising individual booksellers as well as some wholesalers.
“Let’s stay positive” was the theme of the opening address of the EBF President introducing the 2008 Annual Report, and on this key note the conference addressed the challenges the book trade is currently facing. Recognising the immense value of learning from each others’ experience and sharing knowledge, the booksellers were eager to listen to the presentations on the most significant trends currently defining the American book
market. Digitization was the central theme of the conference and the insights provided by Len Vlahos, Chief Program Officer of the American Booksellers Association, Mark Nelson, Digital Content Strategist for the National Association of College Stores and Michael Smith, Executive Director of the International Digital Publishing Forum all underlined the importance for booksellers of embracing the digital challenge and turning from brick-andmortar to “brick and click” bookstores.
Impressive and inspiring for EBF and IBF conference participants was also the presentation on the multiple and far-reaching actions of the Indiebound programme launched by the American Booksellers Association last year, which offers to ABA members a vast range of promotional material to stress the vital importance for local communities of independent and locally-owned bookstores.
EBF and IBF also held their respective General Assemblies in New York. EBF held a partial election of the Executive Committee which is composed of 11 Members and chaired by EBF President John Mc Namee. Newcomer to the Executive Committee is Christian Riethmüller of the family-owned bookstore chain Osiander in Germany. IBF approved the nomination of Marina Kameneva from Trade Book House as IBF Associate Member.
The IBF plenary session also unanimously adopted a Declaration in favour of a bookfriendly VAT taxation in Latvia, following the Latvian government’s decision to raise VAT on books from 5 to 21%. Click here to access the Declaration.
The EBF and IBF conference continued on 28th May at the premises of the Book Expo America Fair ground (Jacob Javitz Center), with the full-day ABA Educational Programme prior to the opening of the BEA on 29 May. The International and European booksellers happily mingled with their American colleagues and benefited from the many seminars, panel discussions and presentations given during the day. In the evening, they met up again with their American colleagues to wish farewell to Avin Domnitz, ABA CEO and IBF Council member, who will be succeed by Oren Teicher, current COO of ABA.
For further information, contact: eurobooks@skynet.be
European and International Booksellers united with American colleagues at Annual Conference in New York New York 29-05-09.
Over 30 booksellers from around the world gathered on 26 and 27 May in New York to attend the joint annual conference of the European and the International Booksellers Associations. EBF is the umbrella organisation of the national booksellers associations in Europe; IBF is its international equivalent comprising individual booksellers as well as some wholesalers. “Let’s stay positive” was the theme of the opening address of the EBF President introducing the 2008 Annual Report, and on this key note the conference addressed the challenges the book trade is currently facing. Recognising the immense value of learning from each others’ experience and sharing knowledge, the booksellers were eager to listen to the presentations on the most significant trends currently defining the American book market. Digitization was the central theme of the conference and the insights provided by Len Vlahos, Chief Program Officer of the American Booksellers Association, Mark Nelson, Digital Content Strategist for the National Association of College Stores and Michael Smith, Executive Director of the International Digital Publishing Forum all underlined the importance for booksellers of embracing the digital challenge and turning from brick-andmortar to “brick and click” bookstores. Impressive and inspiring for EBF and IBF conference participants was also the presentation on the multiple and far-reaching actions of the Indiebound programme launched by the American Booksellers Association last year, which offers to ABA members a vast range of promotional material to stress the vital importance for local communities of independent and locally-owned bookstores. EBF and IBF also held their respective General Assemblies in New York. EBF held a partial election of the Executive Committee which is composed of 11 Members and chaired by EBF President John Mc Namee. Newcomer to the Executive Committee is Christian Riethmüller of the family-owned bookstore chain Osiander in Germany. IBF approved the nomination of Marina Kameneva from Trade Book House as IBF Associate Member. The IBF plenary session also unanimously adopted a Declaration in favour of a bookfriendly VAT taxation in Latvia, following the Latvian government’s decision to raise VAT on books from 5 to 21%. The statement is joined in attachment to this press release. The EBF and IBF conference continued on 28th May at the premises of the Book Expo America Fair ground (Jacob Javitz Center), with the full-day ABA Educational Programme prior to the opening of the BEA on 29 May. The International and European booksellers happily mingled with their American colleagues and benefited from the many seminars, panel discussions and presentations given during the day. In the evening, they met up again with their American colleagues to wish farewell to Avin Domnitz, ABA CEO and IBF Council member, who will be succeed by Oren Teicher, current COO of ABA.
For further information, contact: eurobooks@skynet.be
EIBF co-President Fabian Paagman participates at the first ever European Book Conference in Brussels
The EIBF co-President Fabian Paagman joined a panel discussion during the first ever European Book Conference on bookshops and technological giants that dominate the online book market. The event took place in Brussels on 4 March, and was organised by the Brussels Book Fair and Livres Hebdo (French book trade magazine). It brought together various stakeholders from the book industry, including policymakers, booksellers, publishing executives, authors, literary agents, and other professionals in the field.
Fabian was joined by Philippe Goffe, founder of Graffiti bookshop and president of the Association Internationale des Libraires Francophones, and Delphine Bouetard and Anne-Sophie Vial, co-founders of Ici Librairie. The panel focused on highlighting the keys to put bookshops forward in the customer journey, exploring how to introduce more services and provide a great customer experience, and discussing the growth engines of successful European bookstores.
Speaking about the rise of technology in the book industry, Fabian highlighted that we should try to avoid seeing tech as the problem by itself. The role technological giants, such as Amazon, Google, or Facebook, play is definitely problematic, however, that is not a problem of technology – it is a political and legislative issue. It is crucial we enable a level playing field for all actors in the bookselling industry, and that can only be done by working together with policymakers to ensure equal treatment across the board.
In his speech, Fabian stressed that booksellers, and likewise other actors in the bookselling industry, shouldn’t view technology as a threat. Instead, technology can provide an opportunity for development, especially for small- and medium-sized businesses worldwide. Never before has technology been so accessible, and booksellers shouldn’t be vary of using it.
Fabian shared his views as a bookseller: “Ten, or even five, years ago many of us would say that technology was a threat to the bookselling business. Today, as a bookseller, I look very differently on that. I think it’s a great opportunity. Technological developments have never been so accessible, especially for small- and medium-sized companies. There is a bigger chance than ever before to participate in the technological developments that are surrounding us, and, that are at the same time driving strong change, including consumer behaviour.”
However, it is important to acknowledge that the book trade is a busy market, where not all actors face same challenges. Good example is taxation, where tech giants are in significantly better position. In addition, due to their sizes, they can more easily leverage other opportunities, that for small- and medium-sized businesses often remain out of reach. It is therefore crucial we enable a level playing field for all actors in the book trade, with equal opportunities, otherwise there is a real danger we will only be able to buy books online in the future, as French writer Bertrand Puard said at the event.
However, supporting equal rights for all actors in the book trade is less about technology, and more about politics. Fabian said: “I recently attended a great antitrust symposium, where it was clearly explained that the strong position Amazon, for example, has in our industry is not so much a problem of technological development, but is more a problem of regulation and law-making.”
This presents a critical challenge, but also an opportunity, to work with policymakers on clearly defining the regulatory framework to ensure all actors in the book trade have access to equal opportunities.
Discover our coverage of the day on our Twitter channel, and find out more about the event.
