A New Jersey court of appeals overturned a lower court verdict against author Timothy O’Brien and Hachette Book Group, ruling that he does not have to reveal the sources for his claim in the book TrumpNation that Donald Trump was worth between $150 million and $250 million a fraction of what he claims. The court said the details of Trump’s life are a matter of public interest.AP
Lawsuit
Coretta Scott King Book in Family Feud
Penguin has notified King Inc., which controls the intellectual property of Martin Luther King’s estate, “of its intent to terminate the contract and demand repayment of a $300,000 advance if it doesn’t receive promised photos, personal writings and intimate letters within seven business days,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The contract, signed in May, provided for a $1.2 million advance to King Inc. and another $200,000 for journalist-turned-minister Rev. Barbara Reynolds for an autobiography based on taped conversations with the late Coretta Scott King. The dispute is part of a much larger set of disagreements among the King heirs. Dexter King, […]
Trial Date for Tolkien Heirs' Suit
The lawsuit brought by HarperCollins and the Tolkien estate against New Line Cinema seeking unpaid royalties from the Lord of the Rings films, alleging breach of contract and fraud, has been scheduled for trial in Los Angeles in October 2009. LA Superior Court Judge Ann Jones found that there is a legal basis for the fraud claim, though she disallowed any claim of punitive damages. (The suit asks for over $150 in compensatory damages.) The suit also asks the court to terminate New Line’s rights to make movies based on the Hobbit–ironically slated to be directed by just-announced HarperCollins author […]
Libel Suit Against Grisham Dismissed
A libel suit brought by a former Oklahoma district attorney against author John Grisham and Doubleday for the book THE INNOCENT MAN (as well as Barry Scheck, an attorney, and two other authors who wrote books about the same murder case in which two men were wrongfully convicted) was dismissed by Judge Ronald White. The AP says “the judge wrote that it was important to be able to analyze and criticize the judicial system ‘so that past mistakes do not become future ones. The wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz must be discussed openly and with great vigor.”AP
Possible Lexicon Appeal
It sounds as if RDR Books will at least try to keep its options open on finding a way to publish Steve Vander Ark’s HARRY POTTER LEXICON. The Detroit Free Press says they “expect their attorneys this week to file a notice of appeal preserving the right to continue the legal battle for their Harry Potter book.” As we pointed out in our coverage of the case, much of the Judge’s decision rested on excessive copying of the two slim tie-in companion books Fantastic Beasts and Quidditch Through the Ages (along with excessive copying of JK Rowling’s descriptive language from […]
Rowling Wins over RDR, but Judge's Ruling Is Mixed
Judge Robert Patterson agreed that author JK Rowling would face irreparable harm from RDR Books’ proposed publication of the HARRY POTTER LEXICON and ruled in her favor in the copyright infringement suit brought by Rowling and Warner Bros. Patterson said the publisher “had failed to establish an affirmative defense of fair use” and issued a permanent injunction against publication–but since the book had not been issued yet, he awarded minimum statutory damages of $6,750. In the full opinion, Patterson walks a fine line through the nuanced arguments made in the case. He acknowledges that “reference works that share the Lexicon’s […]