Publishers Sue California Businesses for Copyright Infringement

Publishers Sue California Businesses for Copyright Infringement

BOSTON, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Six leading publishers have filed a copyright infringement suit against Cann Copy & Printing and Tan Tien Publications, two businesses located in San Jose, California, and their owners and managers, David Giang, Tan Giang, Bui Quyen, Do Kimlan, and Vien Tan. Elsevier Inc., Houghton Mifflin Co., Oxford University Press, Pearson Education, Thomson Learning, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. allege that Cann Copy and Tien Tang have routinely produced unauthorized photocopies of entire textbooks and academic monographs and sold them to college students in the San Jose area. The publishers' complaint was filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The lead counsel for the plaintiffs, William Strong of Kotin, Crabtree & Strong, LLP, said that the defendants have blatantly violated the law by providing students with illegal photocopies of at least 51 entire textbooks and monographs and selling them at a cost substantially below the cost of the legitimate publications. "We believe the defendants' actions are representative of a much larger pattern of abuse." The lawsuit seeks to stop Cann Copy and Tan Tien from further infringement as well as compensate the rightful copyright owners for damages.

Students who have purchased the illegal copies are unlikely to buy legitimate publications. Revenues from the sale of published materials fund author royalties and other expenses that support the creation of new works, scholarly endeavors, and scientific developments. The loss of sales due to copyright infringement and piracy contributes to higher prices for legitimate books, so publishers can recoup the substantial costs they incur in creating them.

"When copyrights are not respected, it has a direct and adverse impact," said Mr. Strong. "It is vital for individuals and businesses to recognize that disregard for copyright law is not only illegal, it cheats authors of their livelihood; stifles progress, creativity, and innovation; and adds to the expenses of law-abiding students," he explained.

Mr. Strong concluded, "Our hope is that Cann Copy and Tan Tien will adopt copyright compliant business practices in the future."

Cann Copy and Tan Tien operate copy shops located near the campuses of San Jose State University. Publishers believe that they have retained copies of each of the books cited in the lawsuit to use as a master when additional students request copies.

About Elsevier Inc.

Elsevier, Inc. is a US-based unit of Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in 71 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/), bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high- quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

About Houghton Mifflin Company

Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Company is one of the leading educational publishers in the United States, with over $1 billion in sales. Houghton Mifflin publishes textbooks, instructional technology, assessments and other educational materials for elementary and secondary schools and colleges. The Company also publishes an extensive line of reference works and award-winning fiction and nonfiction for adults and young readers. Houghton Mifflin offers computer-administered testing programs and services for the professional and certification markets. With its origins dating back to 1832, Houghton Mifflin combines its tradition of excellence with a commitment to innovation. The Company's Web site can be found at www.hmco.com.

About Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford, and has a presence in more than 50 countries around the world. The books on its list range from music and higher education titles to reference; it is also a major online library reference publisher. In the U.S, its main offices are located in New York City and in Cary, North Carolina. Oxford can be visited online at www.oup.com/us.

About Pearson Education

Educating 100 million people worldwide, Pearson Education is the global leader in educational and computer publishing. With such renowned brands as Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Longman, Pearson Addison Wesley, Pearson Benjamin Cummings, Pearson Scott Foresman, Que, Sams, Peachpit, and many others, Pearson Education provides quality content, assessment tools and educational services in all available media, spanning the learning curve from early childhood through college and beyond. Pearson Education is part of Pearson (NYSE:PSO) , the international media company. Pearson's primary operations also include the Financial Times Group (publisher and distributor of business and financial business worldwide) and the Penguin Group (publisher of an unrivalled range of fiction and non-fiction, bestsellers and classics, children's and reference works for audiences in over 100 countries). More about Pearson and Pearson Education's Internet sites can be found at www.pearson.com and www.pearsoned.com.

About Thomson Learning

Thomson Learning is a part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. The Thomson Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC). With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson Learning's businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning.

About John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., provides must-have content and services to customers worldwide. Its core businesses include scientific, technical and medical journals; encyclopedias, books and online products and services; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley has publishing, marketing and distribution centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb. Wiley's Internet site can be accessed at www.wiley.com.

Source: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

CONTACT: Susan Spilka, Wiley, +1-201-748-6147; Adam Gaber, Thomson
Learning, +1-203-539-8663; David Hakensen, Pearson Education, +1-952-681-3040;
Collin Earnst, Houghton Mifflin, +1-617-351-5113; Mark Seeley, Elsevier,
+1-781-359-2426; Sara Leopold, Oxford, +1-212-726-6254

Web site: http://www.wiley.com/
http://www.elsevier.com/
http://www.hmco.com/
http://www.oup.com/us
http://www.pearson.com/
http://www.pearsoned.com/
http://www.thomson.com/