Saturday, November 20, 2010

Gov. Palin's publisher sues Gawker for copyright infringement

Leftist website refuses to remove embargoed pages
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HarperCollins, the publisher of Sarah Palin's forthcoming second book, filed a federal lawsuit against Gawker Media Friday for leaking pages of America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag ahead of its November 23 release date:

Two days before the Manhattan filing, gutter website Gawker published images of more than 20 of the open book's pages. Gov. Palin tweeted Thursday, "Isn't that illegal?"
Her publisher contends it is. The lawsuit asks that Gawker be banned from what it terms "further copyright infringement" and that Gawker deliver the source material to the publisher so it can be destroyed. HarperCollins is also seeking financial damages.

Gawker did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment Friday evening, but an item published the day before and titled "Sarah Palin Is Mad at Us for Leaking Pages From Her Book" defended the blog's actions and linked to websites defining the fair use doctrine of copyright law.

The blog was not the first site to publish excerpts from the book, which has been billed as a tribute to American values, but it refused to take them down after receiving a letter demanding that it do so, the lawsuit said. The Associated Press bought a copy of the book ahead of its Nov. 23 release date.
The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate's first book, the memoir Going Rogue: An American Life, has sold over 2.7 million copies.

- JP

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