August 25, 2004
Publishers Settle Trademark Copyright Suit Against Pelican
NEW YORK, August 25, 2004 - Pearson Education,
Inc., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and Thomson Learning today announced
they have settled their pending trademark and copyright infringement
lawsuit against Pelican Bookshop, Inc. a Florida-based business
that has been engaged in the illegal importing, promoting and selling
of the foreign editions of a variety of educational books published
by the three companies and not intended for sale in the United States.
This is one of a number of legal actions recently taken against
online resellers who illegally import the companies' foreign editions
of a variety of educational books, not intended for sale in the
United States, and attempt to resell the books to unsuspecting customers
in the United States.
The publishers' complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New York in May, alleged that Pelican infringed
the publishers' trademarks and copyrights in the books by illegally
importing the publishers' lower-quality foreign versions of their
U.S. books and reselling the foreign books in the U.S. through the
Pelican Web site and other commercial websites at prices far below
the U.S. editions available from legitimate resellers. Pelican also
displayed the U.S. editions of the books on the websites, thereby
misleading purchasers into thinking they would receive the U.S.
editions. The disappointed customers often complained to the publishers
about the books they did receive. Among the differences that distinguish
the publishers' lower-priced foreign versions from their U.S. editions
are the absence of electronic support materials in the form of CD
ROMs or internet materials accessible via passwords that accompany
the U.S. editions, and the use of lower-quality paper; paper bindings
instead of cloth covers, and one-color printing, rather than the
four-color process that gives depth and meaning to the illustrations,
photos, charts, and text. The higher production values are considered
standard in the U.S., and customers here expect this level of quality
in the publications they purchase.
In settlement of the case, the defendants agreed to cease and desist
from all importation, promotion and sales in the U.S. of non-U.S.
versions of John Wiley & Sons, Pearson Education and Thomson Learning
books; from infringing plaintiffs' trademarks; from falsely designating
the origin, sponsorship or affiliation of their business, goods
or services; from infringing plaintiffs' copyright rights in plaintiffs'
works; from unfairly competing with the plaintiffs; and from engaging
in deceptive trade practices. The defendants also agreed to pay
the plaintiffs an undisclosed settlement amount.
This lawsuit illustrates publishers' commitment to protect the interests
of student customers, authors, and publishers. Pelican's actions
deprive student customers of the high-quality products they believe
they are purchasing; and authors and publishers of legitimate compensation
for their efforts and their intellectual property.
