Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Michigan

Copyright of Written Works published Via Internet

I recently published a set of gaming rules, via the internet, for use for online play. Someone else has taken those works in either a word for word, plagiarized, or paraphrased format without giving credit. They, in fact, have claimed copyright on the works for themselves. These people were once my friends and did make game play suggestions, however they never actually wrote any of the manuscript. I do not have a problem with the ''idea'' of the game-the actual play rules-being used by them in their game but I do not feel that they have the right to plagiarize or paraphrase without giving credit. I have requested they remove what was written by me and told that they would not remove it ''without a court order'' because they ''helped create it'' and I copyrighted it to myself ''without their permission'' and they did not ''sign away their rights'' to the works. My questions are: a) Can I legally have them remove what I wrote previously, which they plagiarized or paraphrased? b)Do they have the right to use what I wrote or can they only make derivative works? c) If they make a derivative work and paraphrase do they still have to give credit? d) How do I go about having them remove the works from their internet site?


Asked on 5/24/02, 10:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Todd Epp Abourezk & Epp Law Offices

Re: Copyright of Written Works published Via Internet

Before you can sue for copyright infringement in federal court, you should have a copyright registration in place for your work. You can get an expedited registration for an additional $500. This will speed up the process from 6-12 months to 2-3 weeks. If the work has been published longer than 90 days, you are not entitled to attorneys fees or statutory damages. You would then have to prove actual damages. You should weigh the expense of taking these steps (and hiring a lawyer to do them) v. the verdict you'll obtain (damages and/or injunctive relief).

You or your attorney could send a cease and desist letter before taking these steps, but I have found that if you have experienced intellectual property counsel on the other side, a cease and desist letter without copies of the registration certificates attached is not very effective.

Thank you for your posting. Please contact me directly if you have further questions.

Best regards,

Todd D. Epp, Esq.

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Answered on 5/24/02, 10:36 pm


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