De Agostini Publishing, in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises, announced a new venture in the U.S. and Canada on a three-volume book and DVD set entitled "Elvis: The Official Collector’s Edition". From the press-release:
De Agostini Publishing, in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises, is proud to announce the publication of "Elvis: The Official Collector’s Edition" in the U.S. and Canada. This three-volume book and DVD gift set contains never-before-seen footage of the king and is an essential purchase for all true Elvis fans.
The set includes a new 256-page full-color hardbound biography, replica artifacts and memorabilia from Elvis’ life, 10 DVDs of Elvis’ performances plus interviews, unseen footage and much more. The deluxe hardcover book chronicles the story of Elvis’ life, from his early childhood to stardom in music and movies. Created in collaboration with Elvis Presley Enterprises, the book paints an intimate portrait of the king of rock ’n’ roll and features hundreds of photographs from the archives of Graceland.
The accompanying artifact collection includes high-quality, life-size replicas of some of the most important private documents in Elvis’ life. These include his birth certificate, hand-written notes, original costume sketches, the first contract with Colonel Tom Parker, and many more, each item faithfully reproduced to closely match the originals stored in Graceland’s archives.The 10-disc DVD set is a record of Elvis' finest musical performances, from his early rockabilly days to the world-spanning concerts of the 1970s. In addition, the collection includes the full-length versions of all three historic Ed Sullivan shows in which Elvis won the heart of the nation. In addition to rare historic radio interviews and press conferences, the DVDs also showcase Cinecam footage of Elvis at Graceland and on-set, some of which has never-before been released to the public.
EPE Lawyers Seeking Revenge From SONY/RCA
Elvis Presley's estate EPE is still embroiled in a long-running legal action to extract cash from RCA records in a case that alleges Elvis was "unjustly exploited by his record company". If the estate wins, a hefty percentage of any payout will go to a litigation funding business, Calunius Capital, set up by Leslie Perrin in the island of Guernsey. Two types of clients predominate, Perrin told a recent conference, "David v Goliath" claims where small firms do not have the resources to take on larger businesses, and risk averse organizations that fear pouring more money into a court case without knowing whether they will eventually win.
The Presley lawsuit, filed in August 2011, seeks more than $9m in backdated royalties and a share of future revenue – alleging a 1973 buyout agreement left the singer collecting only $10 a year for worldwide rights on each of his songs. "We are finally getting revenge for 'The King'," Perrin said. "The estate is now owned by private equity institutions. RCA is now owned by Sony. Both are based in Madison Avenue, New York, but the court case [over disputed copyright earnings] is taking place in Munich."
Presley was stationed in Germany as a soldier in the army in the late 1950s. The country is "Elvis crazy" and is responsible for 10% of the world's Elvis Presley sales, Perrin said at the time the suit was filed.The firms typically take between 25% and 35% of any settlement as their fee
(Source: EPE / Elvis Information Network)