At the annual meeting of the American Association of Publishers (AAP), the organization’s board chair, Brian Napack, and CEO Maria Pallante, stressed that the AAP would continue to resist efforts that weaken authors’ copyright protections. As reported by Publishers Marketplace, Pallante said, “Regrettably, there are actors who seek to weaken the legal protections, in order to advance their own business interests, whether that interest is in bloating the fair use doctrine to illogical boundaries, or more blatantly appropriating and monetizing your works without permission. Content is valuable.”

At the meeting, held via Zoom, the association also honored Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) with its Award for Distinguished Public Service. She talked about the need to check the power of Big Tech, but she also warned about the dangers of consolidation in the publishing industry. “What I do want to do is make sure that we have vigilant antitrust enforcement,” Klobuchar said. “It may mean divesting assets, it may mean putting conditions on, so people can’t engage in preferencing their own products or exclusionary conduct. We can have more competition and a brighter future for everyone. And that includes in book publishing.”