Last week, Random House CEO Markus Dohle laid out the company’s eBook plans in two-page memo, asserting control over the digital rights in “the vast majority” of the publisher’s backlist.
Here’s an excerpt from the memo, via eBookNewser: “The vast majority of our backlist contracts grant us the exclusive right to publish books in electronic formats, as well as more traditional physical formats. At the same time, we are aware there have been some misunderstandings concerning eBook rights in older backlist titles … Many of those contracts also include enhanced language that references other forms of copying or displaying the text that might be developed in the future.”
Our digitally obsessed sibling eBookNewser will be covering the story all day. In addition, this editor will moderate a panel between literary agents at mediabistro.com’s eBookSummit this week–asking questions about this developing story and the future of literary contracts. Full memo embedded after the jump…