Following legislative change in the European Union (EU) on 2 October 2018, EU Member States continue to reduce VAT rates for eBooks and audiobooks, often aligning them with physical books. Slovenia and Poland are the latest countries to act while the Publishers Association in the UK Campaigns hard.
The International Publishers Association (IPA), in collaboration with the Union of Jordanian Publishers (UJP), has announced that its upcoming regional conference will be held under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah in Amman, Jordan on the 30th of September and the 1st of October, and will feature a number of renowned speakers from the industry.
IPA conducts a number of committee meetings, open meetings and its General Assembly during Frankfurt Book Fair.
The IPA confirms its freedom to publish programme for Frankfurt Book Fair with an open Freedom to Publish Committee meeting and a seminar hosted by the Norway Guest of Honour programme featuring relatives of two Prix Voltaire laureates and more.
IPA D&I envoy, Michiel Kolman interviews Elsevier’s Simon Holt and Springer Nature’s Kirsty Bone about their experiences of having a disability and working in the publishing industry. This is a long but fascinating read.
October and the first days of November were again very busy, with visits to four different countries and three book fairs in the course of three weeks.
SCCR 39 concluded this evening with an agreement found on how to keep the Exceptions and Limitations discussion moving forward and the other agenda items wrapped up and a possible new issue raised in the chamber.
The second day of discussions on the broadcasting treaty were mainly conducted behind closed doors with the plenary chamber finally filling at 17:40 for a presentation of conclusions.
The first day closed with Dr Kenneth Crews waiting to be grilled by delegates and observers. He was given the opportunity this morning, but the highlights today were the side events and the ripples from some late-night messages to delegates.
The second and final day of the IPA Regional Seminar in the Middle East was opened by Sharjah publisher Bodour Al Qasimi (Kalimat Group), who is (among other things) also the IPA Vice-President.