I think this is an important issue. Should Lybrary really be selling the Sadowitz manuscripts as PDF files? If no agreement can be produced, do the legal rights to the material remain with the author?
Legal issues aside, is it unethical for Breese to be releasing the material in this format against Sadowitz's wishes?
Not knowing all the details, one can only assume that Sadowitz is no longer receiving "royalties" on the sales, but it also seems likely that some kind of financial agreement was made when Breese originally published the manuscripts.
The question would then be, did this agreement cover re-publication in any format as Breese sees fit. Sadowitz says no. Breese doesn't seem to have offered his side of the story publicly.
If no document can be produced and it is just one mans word against the other, it seems to me that Sadowitz is in the right here and, in the absence of a contract, control over all publishing activities legally and ethically lies with him.
7 comments:
I agree - Breese should definately have at least contacted Sadowitz about it. I think the original manuscripts were purchased by Breese for at the time a small sum considering how much revenue he will have received from publishing them. It's a tricky one.
does nobody give a shit about this stuff? Or is it just that nobody's reading?
The problem is that you have the facts wrong. You will surely not post this comment but here are the facts:
Sadowitz sold the rights to Breese. Therefore Breese can do what he pleases with the content. Both Peter Duffie and David Britland confirmed that Sadowitz sold his rights. You can also check Breese's publishing history, he never licensed content, he always purchased it outright. So I ask you, why should Sadowitz have any say when he sold the rights to Breese?
What facts do I have wrong?
I merely stated an opinion that if Breese does not produce a document of agreement between himself and Sadowitz then it seems Sadowitz has the higher ground here.
Sadowitz seems to indicate they had a verbal agreement for Breese to publish the manuscripts in their original formats with their original names.
If Breese thinks his rights over another mans intellectual property extend beyond this, then he should have to prove it.
Not the other way around.
I'm speaking ethically here, in our little "magic community", not legally.
Anyway, if Sadowitz did agree that the sale was for unconditional and eternal control over the material, then it's a little foolish not to get it in writing...
With no proof of any agreement, the rights must surely rest with the creator...
P.S. Regarding "You will surely not post this comment"
Not a single comment has ever been moderated.
I have already explained why I had to resort to manual approval of comments. No moderation is going on here.
Even if there was some kind of agreement (written or spoken), does it cover exposing Sadowitz's creations (hence Sadowitz's name and work) to risks such as piracy and inconsiderate divulgation? Isn't there something like "unfair use"?! By the way, agreements or not, ethics should have a higher place than laws -- it's the magic community ffs, it's not McCartney vs Sony.
Agree 100%... it is Sadowitz himself who choses to object in terms of legality and not on ethical grounds...
"Martin Breese continues his illegal activities..."
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