publishing.booklocker.com-Dispute-#2241257

WORK HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE BUT ANN DUBOIS HAS THUS FAR FAILED TO PROVIDE US WITH WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM COPYRIGHT OWNERS OF IMAGES SHE INCLUDED IN HER BOOK. WE DO NOT COMMIT COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.

Ann Dubois (a.k.a. "Stat") of Stamford, NY, the author of The Big Apples of New York, submitted a manuscript to our firm that contained images that we later discovered (only after the formatting was complete) were taken directly from the Internet. Ann DuBois failed to provide us with written permission from the copyright owners of those images. Publishing images without permission is a violation of federal copyright law. In her complaint here, Anne DuBois admits that copyright infringement is a violation of her contract.

Ann DuBois also admits that she thinks providing a "waiver" to a firm that allows her to publish others' works without permission will protect that firm from litigation. In our opinion, Ann DuBois has demonstrated a gross lack of respect for the law and for the rights of others. If she really did have permissions, she'd have provided those to us on request. Instead, she claimed we could not be sued because she would provide us with a "waiver." When we attempted to educate her about copyrights and the penalties that can be assessed for each violation, she got very upset and demanded we publish her book without the permissions or refund all her money.

ONLY AFTER ALL THE FORMATTING WORK WAS COMPLETED did Ann DuBois made statements that indicated she had not obtained permission to use all the images she had taken from the Internet. Her actions would have put herself, the designer (a freelancer), and the publisher at risk of litigation. Since we are also creatives, we respect the copyrights and trademarks of others. We requested copies of written permissions from Anne DuBois. She has not yet provided those. Based on statements that indicated Anne DuBois' lack of understanding of copyright and trademark law, and her refusal to provide us with copies of permissions, we believe those permissions do not exist.

Ann Dubois has already admitted in her complaint that she understands our contract forbids copyright infringement. Failing to obtain written permission from those whose work she took puts herself, the publisher, and the designer at risk of future litigation. Our firm and the freelance designer refused to assist her in violating federal copyright law and she then demanded a full refund for work that had already been completed.

Per the contract, once work has begun, a refund is not possible. Again, in her case, the work has already been done. The cover was completed long ago and the interior designer spent 70 hours on the interior design of the book. And, contrary to what Ann DuBois stated, the interior designer stated the initial design was finished within 14 days but Ann DuBois then requested changes and edits from the designer.

When the designer realized the images were taken from the Internet, and when Ann DuBois wrote to her, "Stop with the Angela thing/ stay out of that", of course, the designer did notify us that there was a potential legal problem with the book. We then notified Ann DuBois that we could not proceed until she provided us with written permission for the use of all the images she submitted for inclusion in her book. She has refused to provide those. Instead, she is demanding we proceed with publication or provide her with a refund.

Attempting to withhold payment because a contractor will not help you break the law is also illegal.

Since the cover designer and the interior designer have already done the work, no refund is possible. We offered to refund our portion of the fees and provide her with copies of her production files so she could attempt to get published elsewhere but she refused.

Our emails to Ann DuBois have been professional. We will be very happy to publish them in their entirety. Her allegations about "hysteria", etc. are false.

Dealing with Anne DuBois has been less than pleasant on many levels, which is why we offered her a partial refund and her production files. Here are just two of the comments she has sent by email:

"Ange (sic) has been hired by me!"

and

"Have you forgotten that I hired you too (sic) work for me? You need to change your behavior to me.After all I'm paying you. Correct?"

In summary, Ann Dubois (a.k.a. "Stat") of Stamford, NY, the author of The Big Apples of New York, has continued to demand we proceed with publication without the permissions, which would be a violation of federal copyright law. We will not. As soon as she provides us with written permission from the copyright holders of the images she took from the Internet, or provides us with a list of images that must be removed because she can't obtain permission, her book will be ready. Or, she can accept her production files and a refund of our fees only (not the designers' fees, who have already finished their work.) Her production files can be used by other firms. We use the largest POD printer in the world and they have thousands of publisher clients. However, if she does decide to publish elsewhere, Anne DuBois will still need to remove images she has used without permission. Other publishers will also not allow inclusion of copyrighted/trademarked works without permission.

We have published more than 5,000 books in the past 15 years and this is the first time an author has tried to coerce us into publishing images without permission. We respect the rights of other creatives and we will NOT assist anyone in violating federal copyright law.

I see you have not changed your tune, or lies and the rewriting of the contract I had with you. One improvement you are not accusing me of theft, lies and oh my favorite, being a Jerk. I never said I couldn't supply permision for usage of copyrighted images. I said I wasn't contracted to do so with you! When you first reviewed my manuscript before we contracted you never mentioned this NEW demand. After your incredably abusive behavior to me do you really expect that any author would want to work with you?
I'm been researching you further , you are known for calling authors liers, sueing artists because YOU violated their copyright and you even sued Amazon.

ANN DUBOIS HAS STILL NOT PROVIDED COPIES OF WRITTEN PERMISSIONS FOR IMAGES SHE INCLUDED IN HER BOOK. SHE HAS ALSO EXHIBITED A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK LAW, POTENTIALLY PUTTING HERSELF AND OTHERS WORKING ON HER BOOK AT RISK OF LAWSUITS.
Ann DuBois (a.k.a. "Stat") of Stamford, NY, the author of The Big Apples of New York, submitted a manuscript to our firm that contained images that we later discovered (only after the formatting was complete) were taken directly from the Internet. She has refused to provide us with permissions for those images, potentially putting us, the designer, and even herself at risk of several copyright infringement lawsuits. Ann DuBois further implied she didn't have permission by insisting she would be the only one legally liable because she would give us a "waiver." Of course, a "waiver" won't stop anyone from filing a lawsuit against us or the designer. Implying such further shows Ann DuBois is not knowledgeable about copyright / trademark laws - or lawsuits in general.
Penalties for copyright infringement range from $750 to $150,000 per violation. This is a very serious matter.
One example - Ann DuBois claimed the Apple logo she used was not copyrighted. We explained to her that logos are indeed not copyrighted, they are trademarked, and Apple's logos are trademarked. Apple's website makes it clear that written permission from Apple is required for use of their logos in publications. Ann DuBois made assumptions about its usage, which led us to believe she's made assumptions about using other images as well. She has, thus far, failed to provide us with proof that she has permission to use the Apple logo...even after we sent her the link to Apple's website where they provide instructions for requesting permission. I also sent her a link to an article about all the lawsuits Apple has filed against those who have violated their intellectual property rights.
Ann DuBois now claims she has permission to use all images but it appears she does not based on her many emails to us, and based on the fact that she has refused to send us copies of those permissions.
Including a "References" or "Credits" page in a book does not give one permission to publish another's artwork without their prior approval.
Ann DuBois' incorrect assumptions about copyrights and a statement she wanted the designer to include in her book (see below) made it clear to us that there were serious potential legal problems with her book. Her errors in statements about using intellectual property owned by others, as well as the statement in her book (below), along with her defensive comments during this time led us to believe she does not have written permission to use all the images she pulled from the Internet. If she did, why such anger and resistance? Why not just forward them to us?
This is the statement Ann DuBois sent to the designer to include in her book:
"Every effort has been made to honor any existing copyright holders of illustration (sic) that are reproduced. If any errors have occurred in this regard ,necessary (sic) corrections will be made in any future printing editions of this book."
(Yes, that would have edited that before it was added to the book!)
Again, Ann DuBois demonstrated a lack of knowledge about copyright and trademark law. That statement basically says Ann DuBois did not, in fact, obtain written permission from all the copyright holders of images she used, and corrections in "future editions" of the book will not prevent a lawsuit. I explained this to her and she still did not provide proof that she has permission to use the images she included in her book.
Since Ann DuBois demonstrated in that statement and in emails to us that she does not understand copyright/trademark laws, we must, of course, review all permissions before we can proceed. While Ann DuBois may not be knowledgeable about copyright and trademark laws, ignorance is no excuse for violating the law. We, of course, can't allow ourselves to be put at risk based on a simple email from her stating she does have the permissions - especially after everything that has transpired.
In other words, we can't "take her word for it."
Per Ann DuBois' contract:
"The Author states that the Work is not currently in the public domain and that the Author is the sole owner and copyright holder of the work, with full power to enter into this contract. The Author states that if the Work has previously been published in whole or in part, that author currently holds all copyrights to the Work and that the author is legally permitted to enter into this agreement."
(NOTE: Ann DuBois has not provided proof that she owns all copyrights to the images in her book, nor that she has obtained permission to use them.)
"The Author hereby states that the Work does not infringe on the privacy of any third party; that he or she is owner of any trademarks and/or trade names associated with the Work; that the Work does not constitute obscenity, hate literature or ILLEGAL CONTENT and that the author has the right to enter into this Agreement."
(NOTE: Copyrighted/trademarked material published without permission is "illegal content.")
"The Company reserves the right to stop advertising and selling books and to freeze all unpaid commissions for any author whose book(s) are involved in a legal dispute or pending legal dispute."
(NOTE: Ann Dubois' use of images without providing permission puts our firm, the designer, and Ann DuBois herself at serious risk of a lawsuit.)
"The Company reserves the right to refuse to sell a book that contains errors or design issues that will result in harm to the Company's and/or the Author's reputation. If an Author submits a manuscript or cover that contains such errors, the Company will make the Author aware of the problems, and will request corrections. If the author refuses to make such changes, the Company will not put the book on the market, and will not refund the Author's fees because the Company will have already processed files, and invested time and money in the book."
(NOTE: Including an image when permission has not been obtained from the copyright owner is indeed an "error" and using images without permission can indeed harm the author's and the publisher's reputations. And, the book design has been done. The interior designer spent 70 hours on the book and the cover designer finished long ago.)
Per the contract, the book is currently on hold. Ann DuBois can either submit the required permissions, request those images be removed from the book, or accept a refund of our fees only (not the designers' fees as their work has already been done) along with receipt of her production files for use elsewhere.
Ann DuBois seems willing to take the risk of being sued but we are not. And, again, as creatives, we respect the rights of others. We do not commit copyright infringement .
Contrary to Ann DuBois' false accusations above, we have not "rewritten" our contract. The clauses above are copied/pasted directly from her contract. Also, contrary to Ann DuBois' false accusations above, we have never sued an artist or an author. We did indeed file a class action lawsuit against Amazon when they tried to force us and other publishers to pay them to print our books. And, we won. Amazon settled with us and had to pay our attorneys $300K. We earned nothing but we spent two years fighting for the rights of publishers and authors in that case.
If Ann DuBois is willing to lie about her contract as well as non-existent lawsuits, how are we to know she's not also lying about having written permission to use the images she placed in her book? We can't. We would be foolish to "take her word for it" when so much is at stake ($750 to $150,000 per violation).
We are advocates for writers', authors', artists' and photographers' rights and that includes fighting for those whose copyrights have been or may be violated. Our copyrights have been violated many times over the years and we know how it feels when someone uses your material for profit without permission. It hurts - a lot. We would never do anything to harm another creative individual in that fashion.

No matter how much Angie feels free to go on at length, making up things as she goes along, the facts remain the same. I contracted with Booklocker to provide as a packages a full color cover formatted for production, formatting of my color inside text, printing services and marketing and I paid them$1274. Prior to signing a contract Angie reviewed my book in it's entierty and she approved. Part 2 of the contract reads: The author hereby states that the work submitted to the Company is free and clear of any counts of libel, plagiarism, breach of privacy, or misrepresentation of facts. The Author also states that the Work , if biographical or "as told to the Author"is, to the best of the Author's knowledge, factual and true. The Author agrees to pay the Company's legal fees and any resulting judgement against the Company's legal fees and resulting judgement against the Company if legal action arises from any known or unknown libel, plagiarism,breach of privacy or misrepresentation of facts, whether known or unknown by the Author, medical and or legal damages, copyright infringement or any other legal disputes related to the authenticity, character or content of the Author's books.
The Author hereby states that the Work does not infringe on the privacy of any third party; that he or she is the owner of any trademarks and/or trade names associated with the Work; that the Work does not include obscenity, hate literature or illigal content and the author has the right to enter into this Agreement.
he Author states that the Work is not currently in the public domain and that the Author is the sole owner and copyright holder of the Work, with full power to enter into this contract. The Author states that that if the Work has previously been published in whole or in part, that Author currently holds all copyrights to the Work and that the Author is legally permitted to enter into this agreement.
The Author releases the Company from any responsabilities relating to any legal actions incurred by the contents of the Work or the Author.
I signed and agreed. I did not agree to provide Booklocker with written permission for the use of copyrighted pictures I was planning on having in my book. Angie was very hysterical about using the Rainbow Apple image in my book. I sent her the info showing that it was in Public Domain she then said I was violating its Trademark. My usage didn't involve trademark, I had the Rainbow with a small paragraph in the book commending them for using the apple image.(See attachment) Since I didn't see copyright as an issue I told her truthfully that I had it covered. My book has engaged many organizations of all kinds to be participants in my book. They ALL were happy to do so. My agreements with them were verbal.I didn't want to pass on Angies paranoyia
to people who had worked with me on my book for about 3 years.
Angie had an opportunity before contracting with me to add her addional demands to the contract. If she felt I was untrustworthy, a,thief, liar, unprofessional and a jerk as she has called me than don't contract with me or if you have cancel my contract.
She has made it impossible for me to continue with her , I've tried to make peice with her but she just twists it around.
She won't complete the contract as agreed and she won't give me my money back!!
That is definately a NO NO.
I've learned recently that she has a reputation for doing this kind of thing. She even sued Amazon. That must be good for her Authors since they are the biggest distributor of books.

My experience with Booklocker has been shocking and unexpected. In my 40plus years as an illustrator, gallery artist and writer I find Angies behavior to be unbeleivable. I graduated from Music & Arts & Pratt in New York. Taught at the State University of New York. Brooklyn Museum and the Institute of Eo-Studies. I've worked with the writers Erica Jong,Barbara G. Walker among others. I've exhibited for 2 years at Yale, had shows at the NY State Museum, Williamburg Museum, Brooklyn Museum, PBS has showcased my work, and Senator Cook of New York honored me with a solo show in the Capital Rotundra. Patricia Kennedy was one of my buyers in that exhibit. I'm a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators.I have been featured & interviewed in many magazines and newspapers.
The people that I know professionally would be disgusted and shocked by Angies character assasination of me.
Oh as a side note Julie says hello. We had a very nice chat. Also Piers.