Sep 26 2008
Back in June or so, some bloggers formed a group blog called DIKladiesrule. It’s a fun place that features interviews with authors and alot of book chat about the bloggers’ favorite books. About late June, Dear Author started a feature called “If You Like” based upon the shelftalkers at bookstores. It came to my attention(…)
Sep 25 2008
In a decision that will have far reaching effects into the publishing world if upheld, Judge Davis in the RIAA case versus Thomas found that RIAA’s verdict of $222,000, was improperly given. The jury instruction did not properly state the law. The decision (pdf) came down to the meaning of distribution: Each party asserts that(…)
Sep 11 2008
Right to Write is an organization which helped to defend Roger Rapoport, one of the Defendants in the suit brought by JK Rowling to prevent the publication of the Harry Potter Lexicon The Right to Write Fund will also establish an educational repository and serve as a clearinghouse focused on fair use and other First(…)
Sep 8 2008
JK Rowling won a copyright suit against Steven Vander Ark and RDR Books with the district court enjoining the publication of the competitor's encyclopedia and reference guide along with $6,750 in damages. The court found that the Lexicon used too much of the original creator's work to be considered fair use although reference works in(…)
Aug 19 2008
Dear Ms. Laurie: I understand that you have had a lawyer send out a cease and desist and takedown letter to a romance blogger based on two things. First, you argue that the comments that the blogger excerpted from your own website (which you subsequently deleted but Google preserved for all time) are somehow unacceptable(…)
Aug 12 2008
One of the search terms that brought a reader to the site in the past week was why plagiarism bothers authors. Given the size of the recent panel on plagiarism at RWA, it appears that it doesn’t bother some authors. Or is that the wrong assumption to draw? Needless to say, the panel was not(…)
Jul 16 2008
The current copyright protection allows for libraries to copy “a work in their collections that is damaged, deteriorating, lost or stolen or whose format has become obsolete” three times. As Ars Technica notes, this means that no copying can be done until destruction or damage is actually underway. The Library of Congress has noted in(…)
Jul 3 2008
A company called Edson.financial.group has a books and music and other media ebay store. Over 200 products are reviewed, however, it has been discovered that many of those reviews are copied word for word from reviewers on Amazon. Jennifer Ray from Wild on Books Reviews has had three reviews copied and reposted under Edson.financial.group’s name.(…)
Jun 18 2008
Larry Townsend, a famous GLBT author of The Leatherman’s Handbook and its sequel, The Leatherman’s Handbook II, has sued a number of booksellers for infringing on his copyright by selling copies of his books. Townsend had originally been self publishing and self distributing until he made an agreement with Nazca Plains for distribution. Townsend and(…)
Feb 5 2008
moar funny pictures In tuth, in literature, in science and in art, there are, and can be, few, if any, things, which in an abstract sense, are strictly new and original throughout. Every book in literature, science and art, borrows, and must necessarily borrow, and use much which was well known and used before. Justice(…)
Dec 4 2007
I just read on GalleyCat that some prime legal minds will be representing RDR in the defense of the Rowling copyright infringement lawsuit. If you aren’t up to date on this, the facts, briefly, shake out as follows: Harry Potter Lexicon site starts up in 2000 Promotes Pottermania and is used by Rowling and Warner(…)
Nov 30 2007
A lawsuit was originally brought and decided in 2001 over the digital reproduction of work by freelance writers. The Supreme Court found in favor of the writers and the publishers began to remove the work from the archives. There remained, however, the issue of damages. A settlement had been agreed to but was voided by(…)
Nov 27 2007
What might be one of the most important copyright decisions since Sony v. Universal Studios is the case against Google for scanning books. I’m guessing that Google is operating under the belief that the scanning of the books and then offering portions of it in digital format for searchers is transformative enough to escape copyright(…)
Nov 9 2007
Earlier this year, the copyright/plagiarism suit brought by Stuart Silverstein went to trial. Yesterday, the trial judge found in favor of Penguin (pdf link to ruling) and against the author holding that there simply wasn’t any creativity in the work that Silverstein compiled since ALL of the uncollected poems were included in his work, rather(…)
Nov 1 2007
The great thing about being a children’s celebrity is that you can act like a jerk and the majority of your fans aren’t going to be the least bit aware. Rowlings non stop attempts to prevent anyone from doing anything that remotely resembles her work is becoming tiresome. Last month, news of JK Rowling’s lawsuit(…)
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