Monday, August 24, 2009

'Twilight' Author Stephanie Meyer Sued for Copyright Infringement Over 'Breaking Dawn'

Jordan Scott filed a copyright infringement suit today in the United States District Court in the Central California District against "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer for copyright infringement. Brought by J. Craig Williams, a partner with Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP (www.sdma.com), the case is Jordan Scott v. Stephenie Meyer, Hachette Book Group and Megan Tingley Books (case #CV09-6076 MRP R7x). Scott alleges that Meyer plagiarized her novel "The Nocturne," which she wrote as a teenager and released passages, chapters and ultimately the entire book as she wrote them on her website www.jordanscott.com.

According to Williams, "This case is based on principle and Jordan deserves the recognition that her work was copied and her intellectual property violated. We are asking the court to order that 'Breaking Dawn,' the final book of Meyer's 'Twilight' series, and all derivative works be discontinued."

Williams earlier sent a cease-and-desist demand to Hachette Book Group, the publisher of the "Twilight" books, which have sold approximately 70 million copies and produced a movie series by Summit Entertainment. Hachette and Meyer declined to take any action in response to the demand. The first "Twilight" film has already earned more than $380 million worldwide and the next in the series, "New Moon," is planned to be released in theaters in November. According to the plaintiff, comparisons of Scott's "The Nocturne" and Meyer's "Breaking Dawn" show significant similarities.

"While Jordan's goal is about recognition for her work, after further and careful consideration, we have included a demand for monetary damages to preserve that remedy should Stephenie Meyer refuse to acknowledge Jordan as the source of Breaking Dawn," added Williams.

Jordan Scott's entire novel was also recently posted, without her permission, on a Web site where it was downloaded more than 30,000 times in just a few days before being caught.

No comments: