Protecting Copyrights Part 2
Is Litigation in Conflict with Warranties Five and Six?
So how do we square litigation to protect our copyrights with Warranties Five and Six? If, as a last resort, we have to litigate to protect A.A. literature from copyright infringement are we taking an action that is personally punitive or will incite a public controversy, or are we performing an act of government?
The answer is no, but before we get into the reasons, let's look one more time at why the board feels, and has always felt, that copyrights need to be maintained.
They need to be maintained to help the suffering alcoholic. First, without copyrights anyone, anywhere could alter our books in anyway he or she wanted. We might see a Big Book with no God, or with specific gods. How about one for the chemically dependent? How about an explanatory Big Book that expresses one person's views of what it should mean for the reader. How is a newcomer going to know which Big Book or Twelve and Twelve is the real one?
Strong Obligation
Without copyrights the reader is helpless to know unless someone who has been in A.A. for awhile tells him. This large base of experienced A.A.s, who can say to a sponsee, "No, that's not the book you want. Read this one," is probably what has kept a host of imitators from appearing in the U.S., where we no longer have a copyright on the Big Book. But who is going to give that advice to a newcomer in another country where every alcoholic within a thousand miles is a newcomer?We feel a strong obligation to continue the policy of our General Service Board that began with Bill W., when he advised Norway on translating the Big Book, that we make sure that everyone in every part of the world has a chance to read the real Big Book. Bill made it clear that our board was the owner of the copyrights, that translations should be made or approved by us and copyrighted in our name.
A.A.W.S. has been protecting copyrights from challenge for at least thirty years. Previous Conferences have decided to not instruct the board in this matter and have allowed the board to use its best judgment in this matter. We are doing nothing new or unprecedented.
Maintaining Unity
There's also the question of making changes to books. Whom do you complain to if you don't like the language of a piece of A.A. literature? You can go to the Conference. If it's an individual publisher or a company, where do you appeal? Whose group conscience is at work? You all know how much time the Conference spends debating making changes to pamphlets, books, and other copyrighted material. Copyrights help make that work.A second reason to maintain copyrights is to help G.S.O.s everywhere maintain their unity and their financial ability to continue to provide services that help carry the message. Literature gives A.A.s in a country a focus to help build and maintain unity. Virtually every G.S.O. relies to some degree on literature income to support services to their groups. We have benefited enormously from literature income as Bill W. made clear in the Second Warranty.
A Letter from Bill W.
Your Comments
What do you think about Alcoholics Anonymous' efforts to protect its copyrights in Germany? Post your comments on the Forum or send them in an email to BuddyT.
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