PublishAmerica author sues Stephen King for plagiarism

Stacia Kane

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I think Rugcat's point was that the plaintiff filed the suit hoping S&S would just settle because a lot of big corporations do, not that Rugcat thinks they might just settle. :)

And then not only would he have a chunk of change, he could bill himself as the guy Steven King plagiarized.
 

circlexranch

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Stacia, you are absolutely right. Again, the attorney should have put paid to that fantasy. I had an attorney offer to sell me my own trademark for $7000 as a "settlement." My answer was "see ya in court . . . for the next 10 years."

The extension was granted, the plaintiffs now have until midnight on March 31st to respond. Nothing to be read in to that, extensions, especially the very first one are usually routinely granted just for the asking. I will keep checking.
 

entropic island

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On the other hand, I'll admit to being impressed that they spelled "cavalry" correctly, since it feels like I see it misspelled "calvary" 95% of the time.


As my old tactics professor used to say, "Cavalry is mounted soldiers. Calvary is a hill in Jerusalem".

I'm setting a military book in Jerusalem now just to use the phrase:

"The Cavalry arrived in Calvary."
 
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DreamWeaver

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:ROFL: I read a serious book on writing once where the author recommended using Golgotha instead of Calvary, if one were going to be writing about horse soldiers on the same page. Of course, he was trying to get people to avoid the effect...

Back OT: On pins and needles to see the plaintiff's response. Not that I think it'll make sense--exactly the opposite. Will it be creative writing or obtuse obfuscation? I can't imagine either causing any angst in the defendants' camp.
 
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Ink-Stained Wretch

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On pins and needles to see the plaintiff's response. Not that I think it'll make sense--exactly the opposite. Will it be creative writing or obtuse obfuscation? I can't imagine either causing any angst in the defendants' camp.

I suspect the proper alliteration to describe the plaintiff's response will be not "obtuse obfuscation" but "delusional denial" or possibly "batshit bonkers." After looking at his complaints again, I suspect the man is not merely ignorant but insane.

It's possible -- I suppose -- that sheer ignorance combined with "never reading anything more detailed than the ingredients listing on the back of a cereal box" can lead a sane middle-aged man in AD 2011 to honestly believe "In all the history of the English language, I am the first writer to ever feature a character who asks another character 'What do you think?'" or "Nobody ever thought to write a character with a 'chemical imbalance' until my brilliant trailblazing self came along."

But his legal complaint doesn't merely list tropes and cliches which he thinks are his fresh and original creations; he is seeing similarities where they simply do not exist. He wrote that a hypnotic state "controlled him like the talons of an eagle wrapped around a harmless garter snake," and thinks that sounds exactly like King's sentence "I was like a bird hypnotized by a snake."

And there's this list of alleged similarities:
"In Keller’s Den, Martin was speeding at 85 miles per hour
In Duma Key, Tom was speeding at 70 miles an hour or more
In Keller’s Den, Martin was driving along highway 13
In Duma Key, Tom was driving along highway 23
In Keller’s Den, Martin swerved to avoid a guard rail
In Duma Key, Tom drove into a retaining wall
In Keller’s Den, Martin found himself in mid-air
In Duma Key, Tom drove into a concrete cliff."

Crashing into a retaining wall, swerving to avoid a guard rail ... one of these things is not like the other, and if you can't see that, you are not merely an idiot but a lunatic.

If Stephen King wants to be magnanimous, he could have his lawyer tell the idiot's lawyer "We could counter-sue your client for legal costs, but we'll waive our right to do that if your client submits to psychiatric care and takes whatever medications are necessary to cure the chemical imbalance he so obviously shares with one of his characters."
 

pangalactic

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Countdown to the response to the motion to dismiss.

It is due by midnight Georgia time on 03/31/2011

Tick . . . Tock . . .

Is it significant at all that they've left it this long? Or is it common to file at the very last minute?

-Chris, with no idea how the English legal system works, let alone how it works across the pond
 

circlexranch

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Having filed a few pleadings at 11:00 PM, I can honestly say it is no different than any other homework assignment you left until the last minute. I can pretty well guarantee that plaintiff's attorney is stressing big time right now (or at least he should be!)
 

Said The Sun

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Wow. I had no idea this was going on. This is scary. Sometimes I scare myself to death wondering if somewhere someone has a sentence (or seven) just like mine, or the same exact character, or a plot-device, or a full freaking paragraph! And now I see this and am totally beside myself. I'm sure Stephen couldn't give two sh*ts about what this guy is saying, but STILL. When does an innocent coincidence (or a series of them) turn into a civil crime? At this point it's just all pretty f*cking embarrassing.
 

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Having filed a few pleadings at 11:00 PM, I can honestly say it is no different than any other homework assignment you left until the last minute. I can pretty well guarantee that plaintiff's attorney is stressing big time right now (or at least he should be!)

Bah. 11:00 p.m. is for sissies. 1:30 a.m. the morning after it's technically due is for badasses

:D

I had forgotten about this.

Now I haz a happy

:D
 

Ink-Stained Wretch

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The attorney should be censured for taking on the case in the first place. The author probably can't help having delusions anymore than I can help being short, but licensed attorneys are damned well supposed to know better.
 

Terie

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Wow. I had no idea this was going on. This is scary. Sometimes I scare myself to death wondering if somewhere someone has a sentence (or seven) just like mine, or the same exact character, or a plot-device, or a full freaking paragraph! And now I see this and am totally beside myself. I'm sure Stephen couldn't give two sh*ts about what this guy is saying, but STILL. When does an innocent coincidence (or a series of them) turn into a civil crime? At this point it's just all pretty f*cking embarrassing.

Never. It's impossible to plagiarise accidentally.

OTOH, it's also impossible to guarantee you'll never be sued. Anyone can sue anyone else. Winning is a different story.
 

Kateness

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I propose a drinking game:

every mention that PA is legit and/or that Steven King ever had a chance to see it - 1 drink

every mention of an overbroad 'similarity' - 1 drink

every time you actually laugh out loud - 1 drink

every mention of the guy's outstanding writing - 2 drinks

every mention of the grievous level of harm the plaintiff has suffered - 2 drinks
 

circlexranch

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