Discussion:
State: Oregon
Oregon
Hi, I recently obtained a digital copy of a solutions manual for a Student Textbook. I listed it for sale on Half.com and made a few sales, distributing it via email. The content of this digital copy had no legal or copyright information that you would normally find in the front of a textbook, just the solutions to problems. Soon after Half.com removed the items listed and sent me an email as followed:
"We regret to inform you that the offering listed below has been ended
at the request of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., a member of Half.com’s
Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) Program. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has filed a
sworn statement indicating that your offering lists a product or
contains material which violates their copyright, trademark or other rights.
In the interest of protecting all Half.com users, we end such listings
to avoid any association with potentially infringing or unlawful items."
Days later I recieved a letter from this company stating that I may possibly be taken to court if I do not sign and return a letter that they provided.
The letter is written in first person and starts out as the following:
"Let me introduce myself. I am the Intellectual Property Enforcement Officer for John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its related companies ("Wiley")."
This is exactly what the letter included:
"Dear John Wiley & Sons, Inc.:
RE: <Item that was sold was here> (the "Works")
Further to Wiley's letter of (Date Here when letter was sent) alleging infringement by me of Wiley's copyrights in the above Works, I hereby resolve:
1. To immeditaly cease making, distributing, and offering for sale, in any media, unauthorized copies of Wiley's Works.
2. To provide Wiley with complete records with respect to others participating in the sale and/or distribution of unauthorized copies of Wiley's Works.
3. I agree that if i infringe upon Wiley's copyrights in the future, I consent to the entry of damages against me in the amount of $5,000.00 per copy.
4. I agree to pay Wiley all revenues recieved by or due to me from the sale of me of the Works and other Wiley works, together with the sum of $100.00, payable to John Wiley & Sons, Inc., in the form of a certified check or money order (do not send personal checks or cash), for legal costs incurred to date, within ten (10) business days of receiving written notification from Wiley.
Faithfully,
----------------------
(my name printed here, first name is completly wrong though) "
What I want to know is must I sign this and can I be taken to court even if they have no proof that I made any sales or that I was "willinging" and "knowingly" selling copyrighted material, without ever possibly seeing what material was being sold? What if i listed items and this company is basing this all off just an item's description. Could they have or can they obtain records of my sells from Half.com ?
I basically want to know what they could possibly have on me and if they could legibly take me to court based off just a items description?
You advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Answer:
What I want to know is must I sign this and can I be taken to court even if they have no proof that I made any sales Must you sign this? No.
Could you be taken to court? Yes. Proof of actual sales is not necessary -- offering for sale is sufficient. Besides, you said you made a few sales -- do you believe that Half.com doesn't keep any records?
that I was "willinging" and "knowingly" selling copyrighted material, without ever possibly seeing what material was being sold? Copyright infringement does not have an "intent" requirement. It's not necessary to show that you intended to infringe the copyright, or even knew that you were infringing the copyright -- all they have to show is that you actually DID infringe the copyright.
What if i listed items and this company is basing this all off just an item's description. What difference would this make? They are making an assumption that you are infringing based on your item description. If you are really not infringing, let them take action, and you can prove your innocence later.
Could they have or can they obtain records of my sells from Half.com ? Of course. Half.com could (and probably would) willingly give up the records if asked -- they don't want to be accused of vicarious or contributory liability for infringement, so they will likely help out the publisher. However, even if they don't give it up willingly, if a lawsuit against you is filed, the publisher could certainly subpoena those records, and the courts could compel Half.com to hand them over.
I basically want to know what they could possibly have on me and if they could legibly take me to court based off just a items description? It appears that they feel they have enough on you to take the necessary steps to begin a possible infringement action against. All they have to prove to a court is that they own the copyright (should be easy to prove), that you don't have permission to reproduce and distribute the work (should also be easy to prove), and thatyou actually did reproduce and distribute the work -- which you yourself admit, and which should also be fairly easy to prove. And if they have a registered copyright, which they almost certainly do, since they are in the publishing business, they don't even have to prove any damages -- they can simply ask for statutory damages, which can range up to $30,000.
You admit you did it -- don't think that they somehow can't pin this on you, because they very likely can. If you want the maximum amount of protection, take this letter down to a local lawyer who can sit down with you and discuss the letter, and perhaps check to make sure that it is legit (it probably is, but it doesn't hurt to help).
Plus, since this letter basically admits to infringement, you'll want to ask them to include something along the lines of "and by paying the $100 and revenues, Wiley and its assigns agree not to sue me for any infringing activites related to the sales of _______ (title) on Half.com prior to date______" or something like that -- basically, you want to make sure that, once you pay up and admit that you were infringing, that they can't turn around and use your statement against you.
They probably won't sue you anyway if you sign and pay up, but it doesn't hurt to ask for the extra protection.
Answer:
oklahoma
what if i get the same letter, but i have made no sale
thanks
Answer:
oklahoma
what if i get the same letter, but i have made no sale
thanks You should start your own thread. But, if you read above, you would see that no sale is necessary -- the offer for sale is sufficient to attach liability.
Answer:
hate to bring up such an old topic, but what did you do eventually do to resolve this? how did you send "records"?
Answer:
If you got the same letter, but you didn't do anything, it's probably a scam trying to get your personal information and the $100. If you got it, the thread creator's letter was probably a scam too.
Answer:
Hey .. I got a warning letter from Wiley .. it had a phone number to contact the copyright enforcer who caught me .. I called the guy and he told me to send him the link where I got the solutions from and all the sales records. I sent him all the stuff and he told me that he will send me a settlement .. Is this guy for real or is he some scammer??
Answer:
Hello,
I was wondering if there are any limitations for publishers of textbooks? I understand they can copyright the textbook. However, the original poster on this thread mentioned that there were no identifying marks in the document so the document may not have been prepared by Wiley.
While I'm sure the publisher can copyright an "official" 'Instructor's Solutions Manual' with their name stamped all over it, I question how they can claim all "solutions" to their textbook problems are covered by their copyright. I can possibly see that position under Title 17 - Section 103(b) "The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work, as distinguished from the preexisting
material employed in the work, and does not imply any exclusive right in
the preexisting material. The copyright in such work is independent of, and does
not affect or enlarge the scope, duration, ownership, or subsistence of, any copyright
protection in the preexisting material."
The problem that I see is a "textbook problem" could have many solutions. It somehow seems ridiculous that Wiley could own the various methods of solving it or even any one method since their basis for solving is not proprietary rather public knowledge so to speak. How much would the problem have to be altered to no longer be theirs... or for that matter the solution to the problem? Wiley likes to use "real word" problems in their examples in the textbook. Does that mean they can see whenever an engineering firm possibly encounters a problem similiar to one described and "sell" their services to solve the problem for a client? I know this is extreme but solutions are not secret production techniques since anyone knowledgable in the field that the questions are focused in would be able to solve them and would most likely line up with the person who made up a solutions manual for Wiley in the first place.
I understand the offer of sale for solutions raises a flag. However, indeed without Wiley seeing proof that the person has "their version" and assuming the poster did not state it was in fact the publisher's version, I just do not understand how it is legitamate for Wiley to accuse someone of infringement for offering solutions,
Just my thoughts here. I believe Wiley is trying to curb incidents of people giving people answers to textbook problems and I'm not saying they do not have a right to protect the integrity of their works. It just seems to me that they possibly might not be completely protected by copyright law for this type of situation. Granted... it is always up to the judge to interpret the law so that is the person who's opinion really counts.
Answer:
Waqasi apparently did not notice that this thread is over a year old.
These posters are long gone.