NEW YORK (AP) - Travel guru Arthur Frommer said Wednesday that he has reacquired rights to his travel guidebook brand from Google, and that he intends to resume publishing Frommer guidebooks.
Google acquired the Frommer brand last summer from the Wiley publishing company, but last month Skift.com reported that Google was "quietly pulling the plug" on publishing Frommer's books.
Google refused comment at the time, but Arthur Frommer confirmed in a phone call from his home Wednesday night that he had reacquired rights to the brand.
"It's a very happy time for me," Frommer, 83, told The Associated Press. "We will be publishing the Frommer travel guides in ebook and print formats and will also be operating the travel site Frommers.com."
Frommer sold the Frommer line of travel books to Simon & Schuster in 1977. The books had more recently been published by Wiley & Sons.
Frommer started the guidebook enterprise in 1957 with a self-published book called "Europe on 5 Dollars a Day." It was an expanded version of a small travel guide he had written for American soldiers in Europe. With its emphasis on budget travel, it became an immediate best-seller and launched a guidebook company that became one of the world's most recognized travel brands. Frommer's daughter Pauline Frommer also has written numerous guidebooks for the brand and, like her father, is a much-quoted expert on consumer travel and related issues.
Google confirmed in an email Wednesday night the brand was returned to its founder, but added the travel content it had acquired from Frommer's and Wiley had been integrated into various Google services such as Google Plus.
The terms of the deal between Google and Frommer were not disclosed.