Does a "corrected" edition of a book erase plagiarism and source fabrication?

[Ivan Nguyen]

Does a "corrected" edition of a book erase plagiarism and source fabrication?

The case is to be dealt with in New York state.

My book was extensively plagiarized by another author who sought to cover up his numerous acts of plagiarism by citing irrelevant or wholly fabricated archival sources. When I exposed his actions and sent a 76-item list of the cases of plagiarism and source fabrication to his publisher, the author persuaded his publisher to publish a new, "corrected" edition of his book, from which the fabricated and/or plagiarized sources would be simply omitted, or modified in a way that his deliberate transgressions would be presented as accidental errors. The publisher excluded me from the "correction" process, and the author considerably distorted the statements I had made in my 76-item list. If the author manages to publish such a "corrected" edition without my participation and consent, will it legally erase the copyright violations he committed, or will be still remain legally responsible for his original actions? Should his employer (a university) apply sanctions on him, or not?

 

[Zigner]

The case is to be dealt with in New York state.

My book was extensively plagiarized by another author who sought to cover up his numerous acts of plagiarism by citing irrelevant or wholly fabricated archival sources. When I exposed his actions and sent a 76-item list of the cases of plagiarism and source fabrication to his publisher, the author persuaded his publisher to publish a new, "corrected" edition of his book, from which the fabricated and/or plagiarized sources would be simply omitted, or modified in a way that his deliberate transgressions would be presented as accidental errors. The publisher excluded me from the "correction" process, and the author considerably distorted the statements I had made in my 76-item list. If the author manages to publish such a "corrected" edition without my participation and consent, will it legally erase the copyright violations he committed, or will be still remain legally responsible for his original actions? Should his employer (a university) apply sanctions on him, or not?

You will likely want to consult with a local attorney about his prior copyright violations, though I don't see that publishing a new version of the book will "erase" the old version.

As to your second question - it's really not your concern if his employer punishes him.

 

[Ivan Nguyen]

You will likely want to consult with a local attorney about his prior copyright violations, though I don't see that publishing a new version of the book will "erase" the old version.

As to your second question - it's really not your concern if his employer punishes him.

Thanks a lot for your assistance! By any chance, could you possibly point out some publicly accessible legal source that I could cite to back up the view that the new version will not absolve the author from blame? If I lodge a complaint with his employer and the employer refuses to take action on the grounds that the author is going to publish a corrected edition, is the employer's legal position correct or not?

 

[Zigner]

Thanks a lot for your assistance! By any chance, could you possibly point out some publicly accessible legal source that I could cite to back up the view that the new version will not absolve the author from blame? If I lodge a complaint with his employer and the employer refuses to take action on the grounds that the author is going to publish a corrected edition, is the employer's legal position correct or not?

I'll let Quincy address the first question. As to the second question (again) - the employer has no legal obligation to "punish" the guy in any way, nor is it your business whether or not they do.

 

[cbg]

Let me put it this way.

You will never be told what, if any, action the employer takes. Legally, it is none of your business what action the employer takes or if the employer takes any action at all. They employer is free to act in whatever manner the employer sees fit, and has no legal obligation to "punish" the employee to satisfy your desire for revenge.

 

[quincy]

The case is to be dealt with in New York state.

My book was extensively plagiarized by another author who sought to cover up his numerous acts of plagiarism by citing irrelevant or wholly fabricated archival sources. When I exposed his actions and sent a 76-item list of the cases of plagiarism and source fabrication to his publisher, the author persuaded his publisher to publish a new, "corrected" edition of his book, from which the fabricated and/or plagiarized sources would be simply omitted, or modified in a way that his deliberate transgressions would be presented as accidental errors. The publisher excluded me from the "correction" process, and the author considerably distorted the statements I had made in my 76-item list. If the author manages to publish such a "corrected" edition without my participation and consent, will it legally erase the copyright violations he committed, or will be still remain legally responsible for his original actions? Should his employer (a university) apply sanctions on him, or not?

I am confused. The book with the infringed content was published?

Did you file a copyright infringement suit against the author and/or publisher or did you just send a notice to the publisher that your work had been plagiarized?

 

[Ivan Nguyen]

Let me put it this way.

You will never be told what, if any, action the employer takes. Legally, it is none of your business what action the employer takes or if the employer takes any action at all. They employer is free to act in whatever manner the employer sees fit, and has no legal obligation to "punish" the employee to satisfy your desire for revenge.

Do you mean that plagiarism and source fabrication is not such a case of research misconduct that a university would usually sanction (and thus the university can arbitrarily decide if they consider it a transgression or not), or do you just mean that I can't ask the university to take action?

 

[Zigner]

Do you mean that plagiarism and source fabrication is not such a case of research misconduct that a university would usually sanction (and thus the university can arbitrarily decide if they consider it a transgression or not), or do you just mean that I can't ask the university to take action?

Oy!

You are free to ask the university to take action. The author is free to sue you for interfering with his job and, possibly, defamation. The university has no obligation to take any action in this matter, and you have no right to even know what, if any, action they take.

 

[Ivan Nguyen]

I am confused. The book with the infringed content was published?

Did you file a copyright infringement suit against the author and/or publisher or did you just send a notice to the publisher that your work had been plagiarized?

As a first step, I sent a notice to the publisher, with detailed information about each individual case (76 in total). The publisher informed me that the author will publish a corrected version but that I am not to be given any insight into what he will correct and what he won't. The author arbitrarily picked 52 cases for "correction" and decided to keep the other 24.

 

[Zigner]

As a first step, I sent a notice to the publisher, with detailed information about each individual case (76 in total). The publisher informed me that the author will publish a corrected version but that I am not to be given any insight into what he will correct and what he won't. The author arbitrarily picked 52 cases for "correction" and decided to keep the other 24.

You may wish to consult with a local IP attorney.

 

[Ivan Nguyen]

I am confused. The book with the infringed content was published?

Did you file a copyright infringement suit against the author and/or publisher or did you just send a notice to the publisher that your work had been plagiarized?

By any chance, could you point out some publicly accessible source about the question of whether the corrected edition would absolve the author from blame or not?

 

[cbg]

Do you mean that plagiarism and source fabrication is not such a case of research misconduct that a university would usually sanction (and thus the university can arbitrarily decide if they consider it a transgression or not), or do you just mean that I can't ask the university to take action?

I am saying that the law neither requires the university to take action nor forbids them from doing so, but what action they take is not a matter of public record and you will not be notified what, if any, action they determine to make.

 

[Zigner]

By any chance, could you point out some publicly accessible source about the question of whether the corrected edition would absolve the author from blame or not?

Look, if you want to take this further, grabbing a few references from the internet isn't going to help. You will need an attorney. Why? Because the author and his publisher have already, in essence, blown you off.

 

[quincy]

As a first step, I sent a notice to the publisher, with detailed information about each individual case (76 in total). The publisher informed me that the author will publish a corrected version but that I am not to be given any insight into what he will correct and what he won't. The author arbitrarily picked 52 cases for "correction" and decided to keep the other 24.

Thank you for the further explanation.

If you want the publisher to do more than what the publisher has done, you would need for a court to order such action. You would need, in other words, to file a copyright infringement action against the author and publisher.

If a court were to find that the other author's work infringes on your work, the publisher could be ordered to stop all distribution of the work, all work that already has been distributed could be recalled, and you could be awarded damages. If your work was published and federally registered prior to infringement, you could collect statutory damages; if your work was not federally registered prior to infringement, you could collect actual damages (profits/losses).

As it is, the publisher is under no legal obligation to do anything (although ethically and morally there is an obligation).

If the other author's work is edited to eliminate any infringing content and fabricated sources, an edited version of the text can be published.

Universities generally take plagiarism and copyright infringement very seriously and jobs are often terminated when plagiarism/infringement is discovered ... but what this particular university does with the author who has allegedly infringed on your work is not up to you.

 

[Ivan Nguyen]

Look, if you want to take this further, grabbing a few references from the internet isn't going to help. You will need an attorney. Why? Because the author and his publisher have already, in essence, blown you off.

Yes, but I would need some basic legal information about this issue first to decide if my case is sufficiently strong to try to hire an attorney, or I would merely waste my money on consultation fees and possibly on a lawsuit with little or no chance to win the case. Could you please point out either some general legal guideline, or a precedent case?