Ten Leading Publishers File Suit for Alleged Copyright Infringement by Two Massachusetts Copy Shops

Business Wire, Nov 15, 2005

BOSTON -- Ten leading publishers today filed copyright infringement suits in two separate actions against copy shops serving academic institutions in Boston and western Massachusetts.

In Boston, Julesan, Inc., which does business as Gnomon Copy, has been sued by Elsevier, Ltd., Pearson Education, Inc., Princeton University Press, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., SAGE Publications, Inc., Thomson Learning, Inc., the University of Chicago Press, the American Psychological Association and Houghton Mifflin Company. The publishers allege that Gnomon routinely duplicated and distributed copyrighted materials in the form of print coursepacks (compilations of excerpted materials) used at Northeastern University without obtaining copyright permission from the publishers directly or through Copyright Clearance Center.

In western Massachusetts, Shafiis' Inc., which does business in Northampton as Copycat Print Shop, has been sued by Harvard Business School Publishing, Elsevier, Ltd., Princeton University Press, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., SAGE Publications, Inc. and the American Psychological Association. The publishers allege the company has obtained only partial permissions in the development of coursepacks used at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Like many college-area copy shops, the two businesses engage in a substantial business selling coursepacks that typically include journal articles, book excerpts and other materials selected by course instructors as required reading for their classes. To comply with copyright law, copy shops must get permission to distribute the materials they reproduce and pay royalty fees to the copyright holders. Most coursepack licensing is done through Copyright Clearance Center (www.copyright.com), a not-for-profit company located in Danvers, MA, that provides permission services for more than 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities.

"This is one of the largest groups of publishers ever to come together in a joint legal action against copyright infringement by copy shops," said Attorney William Strong of Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, a Boston law firm that represents the publishers in both law suits. "This demonstrates how seriously publishers treat infringement and how aggressively they need to protect their copyrights. Businesses must recognize that permission is required for academic course materials that contain copyright-protected content."

"These law suits are a significant action not only for the publishers involved but for the publishing industry as a whole," said Roy Kaufman, Legal Director, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. "They demonstrate that competing publishers can combine forces and form a united front against infringement. We also are showing solidarity with the many copy shops that do respect the intellectual property of publishers and authors. We will do our utmost to preserve a level playing field for them."

The suit against Gnomon was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston. The suit against Copycat Print Shop was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Springfield.

About the University of Chicago Press

The University of Chicago Press, a non-profit university publisher founded in 1891, publishes ground-breaking books and cutting-edge journals in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences for a global community of scholars, researchers, professionals, and educated readers. Often ranked as the largest university press based in the United States, Chicago has developed an internationally respected list of academic, professional, and writing reference books, as well as a premier list of Chicago regional titles. Through its Chicago Distribution Services division, the Press also distributes books for four dozen not-for-profit scholarly presses and maintains the Chicago Digital Distribution Center with its unique digital printing center adjacent to the warehouse as well as the BiblioVault repository for digital book files. A complete list of books and journals published by Chicago can be found at: www.press.uchicago.edu.

About Harvard Business School Publishing

Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP) was founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard University. Its mission is to improve the practice of management in a changing world. HBSP does this by serving as a bridge between academia and enterprises around the globe through its publications and reach into three markets: academic, enterprise, and individual managers. HBSP has approximately 250 employees, primarily based in Boston, with an office in New York City. Its business units are Harvard Business Review magazine and article reprints, Harvard Business School Press books, Harvard Business School Publishing Newsletters, Harvard Business School Publishing Conferences, Harvard Business School Publishing Higher Education, and Harvard Business School Publishing eLearning.

About Elsevier, Ltd.

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect , MD Consult, Scopus, bibliographic databases, and online reference works. Elsevier is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).