BCS72006_ReadersRespond
July 2006 By Denny Hatch
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Readers Respond to “Book Pirates!” published July 18, 2006, which discussed Kessinger Publishing’s copyright theft.
A fine depiction of your copyright problem. Since the damages occurred where you live, how about filing for the max in small claims court—separately—against all parties involved. That way they have to show up in your local court, without lawyers and at the mercy of your neighborhood judge. Subpoena their records relevant to the infringements. If they don’t supply them, they lose. Very unlikely they’ll want to show up and, if not, they lose. You can usually collect via local sheriffs or similar. My guess is that you’ll get some response prior to the court dates. Not my preference as I try to be nicer than I have to be, but it’s what I WOULD do if things had reached this point. Good luck!
—Richard Pearlman
DH replies:
Many thanx for taking the time to write. With this 2x-a-week e-zine, I have turned into a workaholic. I simply have not got spare time to diddle around in court. The ideal scenario would be for a lawyer to take this on and we split any money 50-50. That’s half for the lawyer and half for my stepmother. Beyond that, let’s see if this rattles any cages in the publishing world. Me, I doubt it.
It is a shame that the publishing industry does not have an industry consortium as willful as the RIAA. It is an even bigger shame that only through relentless lobbying (as the RIAA did) will our lawmakers lift a finger to protect the rights of the owners of intellectual property. Sounds like you need to start a blog and take to task Kessinger and Lightning Source for such unethical practices.
—J. Dia
I sent an e-mail to Kessinger registering my disgust. I am sorry to hear that your stepmother was taken advantage of and that Kessinger did not stop publishing and pay her the royalties.
—Phil DaSilva
A few years ago Newsweek was sued because some of their artists scanned in photos and altered them for a front cover. The Supreme Court agreed that the source of the originals was indeed used without consent and Newsweek paid big time. Here’s the major problem with intellectual property. It is the owner/originator/creator/etc’s job to prove infringement. Then the first approach to the infringer is cease and desist. If you can prove and win a case against a persistent encroacher then the court most likely will take any award the jury decides and triple it. Big payout for attorneys and validation for the plaintiff. Oh, that’s only good in America. If the violator is in China (i.e., video knock offs being sold in Chinatown) good luck. I learned this with my new patent. When I offer it for license, it is up to the user to police their industry and prevent any infringement.
A fine depiction of your copyright problem. Since the damages occurred where you live, how about filing for the max in small claims court—separately—against all parties involved. That way they have to show up in your local court, without lawyers and at the mercy of your neighborhood judge. Subpoena their records relevant to the infringements. If they don’t supply them, they lose. Very unlikely they’ll want to show up and, if not, they lose. You can usually collect via local sheriffs or similar. My guess is that you’ll get some response prior to the court dates. Not my preference as I try to be nicer than I have to be, but it’s what I WOULD do if things had reached this point. Good luck!
—Richard Pearlman
DH replies:
Many thanx for taking the time to write. With this 2x-a-week e-zine, I have turned into a workaholic. I simply have not got spare time to diddle around in court. The ideal scenario would be for a lawyer to take this on and we split any money 50-50. That’s half for the lawyer and half for my stepmother. Beyond that, let’s see if this rattles any cages in the publishing world. Me, I doubt it.
It is a shame that the publishing industry does not have an industry consortium as willful as the RIAA. It is an even bigger shame that only through relentless lobbying (as the RIAA did) will our lawmakers lift a finger to protect the rights of the owners of intellectual property. Sounds like you need to start a blog and take to task Kessinger and Lightning Source for such unethical practices.
—J. Dia
I sent an e-mail to Kessinger registering my disgust. I am sorry to hear that your stepmother was taken advantage of and that Kessinger did not stop publishing and pay her the royalties.
—Phil DaSilva
A few years ago Newsweek was sued because some of their artists scanned in photos and altered them for a front cover. The Supreme Court agreed that the source of the originals was indeed used without consent and Newsweek paid big time. Here’s the major problem with intellectual property. It is the owner/originator/creator/etc’s job to prove infringement. Then the first approach to the infringer is cease and desist. If you can prove and win a case against a persistent encroacher then the court most likely will take any award the jury decides and triple it. Big payout for attorneys and validation for the plaintiff. Oh, that’s only good in America. If the violator is in China (i.e., video knock offs being sold in Chinatown) good luck. I learned this with my new patent. When I offer it for license, it is up to the user to police their industry and prevent any infringement.
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