Harvard Bookstore Claims Copyright On Prices

TechDirt:

A few years ago, we had a story about a store that was kicking people out if they caught them comparison shopping via a mobile device. Obviously, a store can kick out anyone they want to, but perhaps a better approach is to actually focus on better serving the customer so that when they're done comparison shopping, they still want to buy from you (either because you have the best price, or you offer some additional convenience or service they can't get elsewhere). This issue seems to be coming up again, but with a new twist. alex writes in to let us know that the bookstore at Harvard is kicking people out for taking too many notes about pricing (via Boing Boing). When confronted about this, the store's president actually claimed that book prices were the store's "intellectual property." Of course, just because you say something is your intellectual property, it doesn't mean it is. Unfortunately for the bookstore, the law is pretty clear that you can't copyright facts -- and whether the bookstore likes it or not, prices are facts. The store certainly has the right to refuse service to anyone, but that doesn't mean that it's smart for business or that copying down prices infringes on any kind of intellectual property.

Read the whole story: TechDirt

Comments

[NABNYC]

You got this one wrong. The employer said pricing is their "intellectual property." He was correct. "Intellectual property" is not limited to just patent and copyright, but also includes what is commonly referred to as "trade secrets."

In most states, the "trade secrets" of a business include the pricing information. How much they list their items for, whether they provide discounts, the price of hardback vs. paperback, new vs. used. All of this is the trade secret information of the bookstore.

Now the fact that the prices are marked on the item means there has been a public disclosure of some aspect of the pricing information. But getting the price on one item that was bought is much different from having access to all the pricing information for every item they sell, which could be of value to a competitor. For example, a competitor might want to advertise that their prices average 10% less than this bookstore, but they would need all the bookstore's prices in order to make that statement.

So the pricing information is intellectual property, in this case the trade secrets, of that business.

[TCWJ]

You have described and photographed the wrong store and you are damaging its reputation by not posting a correction.
The Harvard Book Store does not toss out customers for such strange reasons.
The store about which you write is actually The Harvard Coop and it is owned and run by Barnes & Noble.
Please get your facts straight.

[secretlyironic]

You're confusing the Harvard Bookstore harvard.comm, independent, family-owned for 75 years) with the Harvard Coop (run by Barnes & Noble, like most other university bookstores around).

The Coop is the one with these policies. You've done a disservice to Harvard Bookstore, which is one of the finest independent bookstores in the country.

[PKSSK]

Ironically, the picture of the bookstore on the site is the privately owned Harvard book store not the Harvard Coop.

[twgbonehead]

Hello? HuffPo Admins? Anyone paying attention?

You NEED to fix the headline and change the accompanying picture. You are impugning one business based on the actions of a different business, and you have been informed of the error a while ago.

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

Considering that textbooks are the biggest racket in higher education (exceeded only by college itself) I'm not the least bit surprised that they are claiming something completely bogus like this. The only answer is BOYCOTT! Stop dealing with these weasels and take their business elsewhere. Of course in the long run we are going to have to go to some technological fix to break this racket once and for all. Napster for textbooks anyone...?

[gappedtoothgodwarrior]

I was always amazed at how much my American friends paid for text books. In England you just order them from your high street book shop and pay a regular price for them.

I thought the US was all for the Free market.

[Beardedfish]

The university system need to get off its butt and move things to some form of eReader. That way, the university or student can "subscribe" to the "textbook" that will always be up to date, saving on costs and eliminating the farce that is reselling your 'used' textbooks. Yes I know reading on a computer screen is rough on the eyes, but us college students are online reading news, using web resources, etc. Time to move into the 21st century folks.

[curiousasheck]

Competitors try to sneak "spys" into the competitions stores all the time. It's called Price Wars.

Thats probably more what this is about.

[auntiewillow]

I'm sorry, I copyrighted the concept of exchanging money for goods and services. Please let this "Store" know that they'll be hearing from my Attorney!