There’s never a dull moment in digital publishing. Some businesses are closing their doors while others are broadening their horizons. Expectations are being challenged and legal tensions continue to run high. Here’s the latest…

The Good

Overdrive Adds More Than 300,000 Titles

Leading digital content provider OverDrive announced global expansion with institutional buyers now in more than 50 countries. To meet increasing global demand in libraries and schools, OverDrive, the leading supplier of eBooks and audiobooks to libraries and schools, announced that it has added 300,000 digital titles from more than 100 top publishers… http://bit.ly/1kkRxWJ

Smashwords Expands Global Footprint

Smashwords announced a comprehensive distribution agreement with Gardners, the UK’s largest book wholesaler. The agreement significantly expands the global footprint of the Smashwords ebook distribution network, enabling Smashwords authors and publishers to reach hundreds of online retailers, public libraries and academic libraries… http://bit.ly/1XfXi6c

Ingram Adds Three Countries to its Global Connect Network

The Ingram Content Group has struck deals with companies in China, India and Italy to expand its Global Connect network to those three countries. Under the Global Connect program, Ingram offers publishers the ability to make content available globally through local print-on-demand and distribution facilities located in particular countries. In addition to shortening delivery times, through Global Connect publishers’ content has central accessibility to in-market facilities with title pricing in appropriate currencies, shipping orders and content translation… http://bit.ly/1PCxXBc

The Bad

Ebook Sales Weaken Amid Higher Prices

When the world’s largest publishers struck e-book distribution deals with Amazon.com Inc. over the past several months, they seemingly got what they wanted: the right to set the prices of their titles and avoid the steep discounts the online retail giant often applies. But in the early going, that strategy doesn’t appear to be paying off… http://bit.ly/1RkLWtL

Publishers Happier with Digital Transition than Authors

Publishers are more content with how the book business is weathering the digital transition than authors are, according to early results of the FutureBook Digital Census… http://bit.ly/1M3nxVt

After Oyster, What’s Next for E-book Subscriptions?

After one of the industry’s most buzzed-about upstarts announced that it is shutting down, questions have mounted about the viability of e-book subscription services. Oyster—billed as the Netflix of books—confirmed that it will cease operations sometime in 2016… http://bit.ly/1W2vxAL

PubSlush Closes after Acquisition Deal Falls Through

Back in August, PubSlush, the first startup to style itself a “Kickstarter for books”, announced that it would be shutting down. A week later came news that the platform was being acquired by Colborne Communications, a Toronto-based editorial services firm that planned to keep PubSlush open and later turn it into a services marketplace. Earlier this month that deal fell through, marking the official end of PubSlush… http://bit.ly/1MB7dM7

The Ugly

Amazon Files Lawsuit against People Who Sell Fake Ebook Reviews

According to a recently revealed court documents, Amazon is seeking to have the identities of over 1,000 people disclosed who use the Fiverr service for the purpose of leaving fake e-book reviews.  This is the first time Amazon has targeted individuals and not companies… http://bit.ly/1PscKuo

Google book-scanning project legal, says U.S. appeals court

A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that Google’s massive effort to scan millions of books for an online library does not violate copyright law, rejecting claims from a group of authors that the project illegally deprives them of revenue… http://reut.rs/1Oz2pg9

Apple ‘own worst enemy,’ U.S. antitrust monitor says in report

Apple Inc’s antitrust compliance program has improved, but the company continues to impede a court-appointed monitor overseeing the program, acting as “its own worst enemy,” the monitor told a federal judge… http://reut.rs/1j4p9qI