At one point, I had an excerpt from a very informative essay by H. Jackson Brown, titled "Live and Learn and Pass it On", which was repeated in Reader's Digest, June 1995. Unfortunately, I was asked to remove it, because it was copyrighted. I did not understand their objection to this free advertising, so I canceled my subscription. I don't think they noticed :). From MaryDe9126@aol.com Mon Apr 8 15:51 EDT 1996 From: MaryDe9126@aol.com Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 15:51:02 -0400 To: ofut@isse.gmu.edu Subject: H. Jackson Brown, "Live and Learn and Pass it On", 6/95 Reader's Digest Dear Sir: It has come to our attention that you are using copyrighted material belonging to The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. on the Internet. Please note that these items are subject to the protection of the copyright law and may not be copied without the prior written consent of our company. As such, your use of these items without permission constitutes copyright infringement. Therefore, we demand that you refrain from use of our copyrighted materials, and confirm to us in writing within ten (10) days of your receipt of this letter that you have done so. We would appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Very truly yours, The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. MaryDe9126@aol.com From ofut@isse.gmu.edu Mon Apr 8 16:31 EDT 1996 From: Jeff Offutt Subject: Re: H. Jackson Brown, "Live and Learn and Pass it On", 6/95 Reader's Digest To: MaryDe9126@aol.com Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 16:32:10 -0400 (EDT) Cc: ofut@isse.gmu.edu (Jeff Offutt) Dear MaryDe9126, >It has come to our attention that you are using copyrighted material >belonging to The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. on the Internet. If so, I certainly apologize, I have no wish to abuse copyright protection. I only made the excerpt available to benefit my students, and you may have noticed, I made due reference to the author and Reader's Digest. I apologize for the infringement ... I mistakenly assumed this was "Fair Use". >Therefore, we demand that you refrain from use of our copyrighted materials, >and confirm to us in writing within ten (10) days of your receipt of this I will be happy to remove the document in question. Naturally, I would like some sort of documentation that you indeed represent the Reader's Digest. I'm sure you are aware that it is trivially easy to forge email and misrepresent identities on the internet. Your mail came with the following address: >The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. >MaryDe9126@aol.com As soon as you can provide me with some verification that you represent Reader's Digest, I will remove the document. A phone number, a full name, or a printed letterhead document will do just fine. Thank you, and again, my apologies. -- Jeff Offutt ISSE Department, 4A4 George Mason University Fairfax VA 22030-4444 USA (703) 993-1654 ofut@isse.gmu.edu http://www.isse.gmu.edu/faculty/ofut From MaryDe9126@aol.com Mon Apr 8 16:44 EDT 1996 From: MaryDe9126@aol.com Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 16:43:51 -0400 To: ofut@isse.gmu.edu Subject: Re: H. Jackson Brown, "Live and Learn and Pass it On", 6/95 Reader's Digest Dear Sir: My name is Mary De Longis, and I am with the Legal Department of The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., located at Reader's Digest Road, Pleasantville, New York 10570-7000. If you would like any further information, please call me at (914) 244-5620. Thanks for your prompt reply! Mary De Longis From ofut@isse.gmu.edu Tue Apr 9 09:14 EDT 1996 From: Jeff Offutt Subject: Re: H. Jackson Brown, "Live and Learn and Pass it On", 6/95 Reader's Digest To: MaryDe9126@aol.com Date: Tue, 9 Apr 1996 09:14:18 -0400 (EDT) Cc: ofut@isse.gmu.edu (Jeff Offutt) >My name is Mary De Longis, and I am with the Legal Department of The Reader's >Digest Association, Inc., located at Reader's Digest Road, Pleasantville, New >York 10570-7000. If you would like any further information, please call me >at (914) 244-5620. Thank you for the information. I have removed the material you complained about, and I apologize for the infringement, and any loss of revenue that may have been inadvertantly caused by my mistake. On the other hand, my opinion is that you are overreacting a little bit. After all, you just lost some free advertising. Sincerely, Jeff Offutt -- Jeff Offutt ISSE Department, 4A4 George Mason University Fairfax VA 22030-4444 USA (703) 993-1654 ofut@isse.gmu.edu http://www.isse.gmu.edu/faculty/ofut