Protecting Copyrights
The following is from the General Service Board Oral Report to 1999 Alcoholics Anonymous General Service Conference by the Chairman of the General Service Board, published here by request and with permission, concerning the Big Book Court Case in Germany.In 1993, an individual in Germany communicated with the General Service Offices in both Germany and the U.S./Canada about his intention to publish his own translation of the Big Book. He was advised that the copyright on the Big Book was still in effect in Germany.
After lengthy correspondence during which both G.S.O.s tried to persuade him of the damage to A.A. that would result from his printing such a book and of both countries' resolve to defend their copyrights, he went ahead and published his book anyway. After all efforts to stop publication failed, the German G.S.O., with the knowledge of its Conference, sought legal remedies in the German courts.
More recently it came to our attention that he was publishing the Big Book in several other languages, including Finnish, Swedish, Russian, and Hebrew. While the German G.S.O. was large enough to defend the copyrights on our behalf some of the smaller G.S.O.s would have had trouble doing so.
Authorized Action
In 1997, the A.A.W.S. board passed a resolution recognizing its "responsibility to preserve and protect the copyrights held in trust for all of A.A." and authorizing appropriate action, including legal action if necessary, to meet this responsibility. The General Service Board endorsed this resolution. Both resolutions were passed with complete unanimity.There is not much new to report since we reported to you last year. Our actions are moving slowly through the German legal system. We can't get into the details of our legal actions for obvious reasons.
Both the past and current General Managers have met regularly with a group composed of the following people: our outside counsel, (name deleted), current chairmen of both A.A.W.S. and the G.S.B., and the trustees' litigation oversight committee, which is made up of two lawyers on our board, (name deleted) and (name deleted), and the past A.A.W.S. chair, (name deleted).
I wish I could say when this will end, put that is impossible to predict. The best solution is for the individual doing the infringing to stop.
Is Litigation in Conflict with Warranties Five and Six?
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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