HarperCollins Resolves Lawsuit with Gawker
In a statement, HarperCollins revealed they have resolved their lawsuit against Gawker over a post containing photographed excerpts from Sarah Palin‘s memoir, America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag.
Over the weekend, a federal judge ordered Gawker to remove the excerpts. UPDATE: The New York Times has more, including a statement from Gawker. Asked about “financial settlement,” a HarperCollins spokesperson “declined to comment.”
The complete statement follows below, but here is an excerpt: “HarperCollins has reached an agreement with Gawker resolving the lawsuit it filed against Gawker on Friday over Gawker’s unauthorized posting of pages from Sarah Palin’s then-unpublished book, America by Heart … In settling the case, Gawker has agreed to keep the posted material off its web site and not to post the material again in the future. HarperCollins is gratified that it was able to resolve the dispute in this way. HarperCollins does welcome public commentary on its books so long as any book content is utilized in a manner that is consistent with the law.”
Here is HarperCollins complete statement:
“HarperCollins has reached an agreement with Gawker resolving the lawsuit it filed against Gawker on Friday over Gawker’s unauthorized posting of pages from Sarah Palin’s then-unpublished book, America by Heart, which goes on sale today. In the suit, HarperCollins alleged that Gawker’s postings infringed the copyright in the book, and violated HarperCollins’ exclusive publication rights. On Saturday afternoon, Judge Thomas Griesa of the US District Court in Manhattan entered a temporary restraining order against Gawker. In an opinion issued yesterday, Judge Grisea stated that “the purpose of the copyright law is to prevent the kind of copying that has taken place here.” Judge Grisea’s opinion also said that Gawker “published what amounts to a substantial portion of the book” but “essentially engaged in no commentary or discussion”, and that it had “not used the copyrighted material to help create something new but has merely copied the material in order to attract viewers.” Immediately after the hearing, Gawker removed the offending pages from its web site as the Judge ordered.
“In settling the case, Gawker has agreed to keep the posted material off its web site and not to post the material again in the future.
“HarperCollins is gratified that it was able to resolve the dispute in this way. HarperCollins does welcome public commentary on its books so long as any book content is utilized in a manner that is consistent with the law.”
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