BREAKING NEWS

Knesset cancels Books and Authors Law

The Knesset canceled the Books and Authors Law Monday night, after Culture Minister Miri Regev determined it was ineffective in its goal to increase competition in the book market and ensure that authors other than the top few are better compensated.
The limitations on discounts on book prices for the first 18 months after their publication and minimum royalties for authors will be canceled as of August 31, 2016, but in next month’s Hebrew Book Week, stores will already be able to lower the prices for new books.
Regev argued that the law increased the price of books, which meant that fewer people were reading new authors, leading them to earn less overall.
The part of the Books and Authors Law meant to weaken the duopoly of Steimatzky and Tzomet Sfarim and their close ties to specific publishers, by prohibiting the bookstore chains from rewarding employees for recommending a specific book and instructing them to display certain books more than others, will remain for two years.