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August 25, 2004
Publishers Settle Trademark Copyright Suit Against Pelican
NEW YORK, August 25, 2004 – Pearson Education, Inc., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and Thomson Learning today announced they have settled their pending trademark and copyright infringement lawsuit against Pelican Bookshop, Inc. a Florida-based business that has been engaged in the illegal importing, promoting and selling of the foreign editions of a variety of educational books published by the three companies and not intended for sale in the United States. This is one of a number of legal actions recently taken against online resellers who illegally import the companies' foreign editions of a variety of educational books, not intended for sale in the United States, and attempt to resell the books to unsuspecting customers in the United States.
The publishers’ complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in May, alleged that Pelican infringed the publishers’ trademarks and copyrights in the books by illegally importing the publishers' lower-quality foreign versions of their U.S. books and reselling the foreign books in the U.S. through the Pelican Web site and other commercial websites at prices far below the U.S. editions available from legitimate resellers. Pelican also displayed the U.S. editions of the books on the websites, thereby misleading purchasers into thinking they would receive the U.S. editions. The disappointed customers often complained to the publishers about the books they did receive. Among the differences that distinguish the publishers’ lower-priced foreign versions from their U.S. editions are the absence of electronic support materials in the form of CD ROMs or internet materials accessible via passwords that accompany the U.S. editions, and the use of lower-quality paper; paper bindings instead of cloth covers, and one-color printing, rather than the four-color process that gives depth and meaning to the illustrations, photos, charts, and text. The higher production values are considered standard in the U.S., and customers here expect this level of quality in the publications they purchase.
In settlement of the case, the defendants agreed to cease and desist from all importation, promotion and sales in the U.S. of non-U.S. versions of John Wiley & Sons, Pearson Education and Thomson Learning books; from infringing plaintiffs’ trademarks; from falsely designating the origin, sponsorship or affiliation of their business, goods or services; from infringing plaintiffs’ copyright rights in plaintiffs’ works; from unfairly competing with the plaintiffs; and from engaging in deceptive trade practices. The defendants also agreed to pay the plaintiffs an undisclosed settlement amount.
This lawsuit illustrates publishers’ commitment to protect the interests of student customers, authors, and publishers. Pelican’s actions deprive student customers of the high-quality products they believe they are purchasing; and authors and publishers of legitimate compensation for their efforts and their intellectual property.
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