DUBLIN, Ohio, USA, 29 November 2007—Lawsuits have
been dismissed and issues surrounding distribution of eAudiobooks have
been resolved, according to Recorded Books and NetLibrary, the parties
involved.
Recorded Books filed a lawsuit in May alleging breach of a licensing
and distribution agreement with NetLibrary, and NetLibrary filed a
countersuit. Both lawsuits have been dismissed and the dispute has
been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.
NetLibrary will continue to market Recorded Books eAudiobooks at
least through August 2008 and they will service contracts at least
through August 2009. Recorded Books, meanwhile, may introduce new
services, with or without additional partners.
Details of the agreement will not be made public, but the result of the settlement is good news for libraries.
"The goal of both NetLibrary and Recorded Books was to resolve this
issue without impacting libraries using these eContent services, and
that goal has been achieved," said Chip Nilges, Vice President, OCLC
Business Development. "Libraries can be confident that they will be
able to continue to offer high-quality downloadable eAudiobooks to
their patrons into the future."
"We are pleased to have this dispute behind us and look forward to
servicing the market," said Brian Downing, VP and Publisher of Recorded
Books, LLC.
About Recorded Books
Recorded Books, a Haights
Cross Communications company, produces and distributes unabridged
audiobooks and other audio products to public and university libraries
and schools, in cassette, CD, and downloadable formats. Over 7,000
titles are available for adults, children, and young adults in English
and Spanish languages narrated by professional, award-winning actors.
Recorded Books also distributes music, educational lectures,
independent films, and nonfiction films on DVD. Packaging is designed
for high circulation. One-year warranty, cataloging, processing, and
free marc records are available. For more information, visit www.recordedbooks.com.
About OCLC
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in
Dublin, Ohio, OCLC is a nonprofit library service and research
organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference,
resource sharing, eContent, preservation, library management and Web
services to 60,000 libraries in 112 countries and territories. OCLC and
its member libraries worldwide have created and maintain WorldCat, the
world's richest online resource for finding library materials. For
more information, visit www.oclc.org.
OCLC NetLibrary provides content and technical delivery solutions to
institutional libraries, corporations and government agencies that
facilitate the purchase, management and distribution of research,
reference, digital learning and general interest content via Web-based
technologies. NetLibrary’s eContent solution is the most broadly
adopted in the market, making more than 150,000 eBooks, 6,000
eJournals, 5,600 eAudiobooks, and 87 databases available through more
than 15,000 libraries worldwide. For more information, visit www.oclc.org/netlibrary/.