'To Kill a Mockingbird' Author Lee Sues Her Agent Over Copyright.

[elleng]

Source: nyt/reuters

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "To Kill A Mockingbird," Harper Lee, on Friday sued her literary agent, claiming he tricked her into assigning the copyright on her book to him.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan against Samuel Pinkus, the son-in-law of Lee's long-time agent, Eugene Winick, who had represented her for more than 40 years. When Winick became ill in 2002, Pinkus diverted several of Winick's clients to his own company, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, Pinkus in 2007 "engaged in a scheme to dupe" the then 80-year-old Lee into assigning her "To Kill a Mockingbird" copyright without any payment. . .

Lee was suffering from declining hearing and eyesight, and has no memory of agreeing to relinquish her rights or signing the agreement the memorializes the purported transfer, according to the court papers.






Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2013/05/03/arts/03reuters-usa-mockingbird-lawsuit.html?hp

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[Tansy_Gold]

1. I hate agents.

I hate agents. I hate agents.


I
hate
agents.

[Orrex]

3. But how do you feel about agents?

[Tansy_Gold]

8. the subject line of post #5

Is far too nice a description.

[Sherman A1]

9. I don't

I am not particularly fond of thieves, which this appears to be the case, but agents do important work for their clients and day in and day out representing them to the best of their ability.

I just don't think sweeping generalizations are helpful.

[NYtoBush-Drop Dead]

26. first s.h.oot the agents...

...Shakespeare

[sheshe2]

2. One of my all time favorites.

I have read it many times!
The guy is a snake!
I hope she wins!

Thanks elleng.

[burrowowl]

27. Yes!

Me too!

[Hekate]

4. That's terrible. I hope the judge throws the book at him.

[John1956PA]

7. LOL! Great pun!

Justice for Scout!

[JI7]

5. i hate sleazy piece of shits like that

[Poll_Blind]

6. Oh shit, very interesting. Near the end of the article it says that the...

..."lawsuit also alleged Pinkus failed to respond to offers by publisher HarperCollins to discuss licensing e-book rights and did not respond to the publisher's request for assistance related to the 50th anniversary of the publishing of 'To Kill A Mockingbird.'"

Methinks someone's trying to get away with something and was under the impression that the author was not going to last much longer after the rights were "assigned" in 2007 or whenever they were transferred.

I suspect the author continuing to draw breath and become aware of the situation was something wholly unexpected on the part of her agent.

PB

[Downwinder]

12. Elder Abuse!!!

[elleng]

13. I suspect 'agent' gonna get his ass handed to him.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. Ms. Lee is doing pretty well, but is confined to a wheelchair mostly.

She is in a very good senior home in our town, is mentally sharp as a tack.
Her sister, Alice Lee, is 95 and STILL goes to her law office everyday, then spends the rest of the day with Harper Lee.
My neighbor drives Miss Alice around for any needed store runs.
I suspect every lawyer in town would only too glad to support her lawsuit.

[Poll_Blind]

23. Very good to hear! nt

PB

[MrsBrady]

24. wow...that's cool...

do you know them?

[dixiegrrrrl]

25. I have been introduced to Alice Lee, by my neighbor.

She is a very tiny woman and now is almost completely deaf.
but Harper Lee is a known for her reclusiveness.
Even when she was up and about, in the past, people here pretty well just "let her be".
so you would see her around town, going into the Post Office, etc, and just say good morning.
I do not know them socially.

[Nedsdag]

28. I believe her sister is older than 95.

I think she celebrated her 101st birthday.

[dixiegrrrrl]

29. I believe you are right...

Now that I remember, our local paper had a big to-do about it.

[bravenak]

10. Bastard!

I hope every author sees the agents face all over the tv. No more work for him. And can we get some jail time!? Please!?

[elleng]

15. Damn right his career should be over.

Haven't seen anything likely leading to criminal action and jail time, but who knows???

[Baitball Blogger]

11. Taking advantage of an eighty year old woman.

I thought lawyers were the lowest.

[elleng]

14. We lawyers are NOT lower than any other humans, nor are agents,

but there are LOW among everyone, everywhere, unfortunately.

[jberryhill]

30. Depends on your area of practice

Hardy a day goes by when I don't ask, "How in the hell did this person get through law school and pass a bar exam?"

Evidence? Relevant law? Hello? Just because you can search "plaintiff won" on Lexis doesn't mean your citation has anything to do with the facts here.

[elleng]

31. Competence, interest, and 'devotion' not related to 'low'

as I used it, which is not related to area of practice. Moral, immoral and amoral are ALL over the place (as I'm sure you know.)

[jberryhill]

38. You ain't just whistling Dixie

http://domainnamewire.com/2013/03/11/procter-gamble-guilty-of-reverse-domain-name-hijacking/

[elleng]

43. GREAT WORK, berryhill!

Gotta go now so can't spend time spreading accolades, but BRAVO!!!

'The respondent’s attorney, John Berryhill, was suspicious of the sales number. After being pressed, P&G admitted that it actually made sales of only $60,000.
Also, the 1993 trademark was actually assigned to P&G after Marchex owned the domain and it was not valid in the United States. . .

In finding P&G guilty of reverse domain name hijacking, the panel noted that both the company and its attorneys, Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL, have been involved in numerous UDRP proceedings. The panel found it “impossible to believe” that P&G wasn’t aware of the Swash.com domain name prior to introducing its original product line.'

[marble falls]

35. Lawyers and agents just do more damage than most other lowlifes.

[jberryhill]

17. I suppose she's being represented by leprechauns

[Baitball Blogger]

19. When I meet the lawyer that can unravel the community mess that has defined

my existence, I will be the first to apologize.

[elleng]

44. check posts 38 and 43.

[Baitball Blogger]

46. I don't deny that there are good lawyers out there that recognize that many of the

Last edited Sat May 4, 2013, 08:37 PM - Edit history (1)

problems we're dealing with are the byproduct of unethical lawyers. I'm just saying that I have never crossed paths with one. Not physically, anyway.

[marble falls]

36. What do you want to bet the leprechaun representing her is doing it pro bono?...

I got 20 bucks that sez the leprechaun gets paid no matter what. Out of money stolen from her by another leprechaun who in turn is being represented by another leprechaun.That's the croocked way leprechauns are.

[jberryhill]

37. Depends

It depends on what the facts actually are here. The story is based on a civil complaint as files by the plaintiff. If such things were gospel, we wouldn't need courts to do very much.

Apparently there was an assignment some years ago, and this action seeks to undo it on grounds of fraudulent inducement. If one is trying to nullify a contract, there is only a handful of ways to do that, and fraudulent inducement is one of them.

Odds are, like most lawsuits, it will settle at some point.

But, yes, lawyers usually get paid. Same as plumbers, bricklayers, cashiers, and anyone else who does something for a living. But also, like a lot of other folks, lawyers do some stuff for free because it interests them. The thing is, a carpenter can go spend a couple of Saturdays doing volunteer work for, say, Habitat for Humanity. Their service starts when they show up and ends when they go home. The way that law works, a lawyer can't just put in a few hours of spare time on things like this. When a lawyer commits to representing a client in a case, he or she is locked in and can't get off that ride unless the court allows him or her to do so - and it can't be just a couple of hours here and there.

At bottom, in a case such as this and in most civil litigation, what you have is someone who has been screwed out of a pile of money or otherwise has a legal claim which will entitle them to a pile of money. That's what most civil litigation is about - "I want money that someone owes me for some reason". The weird thing is how much resentment there seems to be against lawyers for wanting to get paid in order to help other people get money.

[marble falls]

39. Jerry, I feel your pain. I have a brother and sister attorneys here in Texas,...

but the fact is I think Congress gets higher approvals than lawyers do in general. Is the public right about Congress and wrong about lawyers?

Yes or no?

[jberryhill]

40. It's very similar

Everyone hates "Congress" but loves their representative.

Everyone hates "lawyers" but their lawyer is awesome.

Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Michele Obama, and Joe Biden all did what for a living before getting into politics?

Well, okay, screw them - they never did a lick of good for anyone, just like those scum sucking bottom feeding ambulance chasers like Thurgood Marshall.

[marble falls]

42. Your honor, the witness is being unresponsive ..... liked that Thurgood Marshall tag...

comparing yourself to Thurgood Marshall, are ya?

[jberryhill]

45. Myself?

No. I don't see any comparison being made between myself and anyone else.

I'm just naming some lawyers. The people who do things like Roe v Wade, Brown v Board of Education, and any number of civil actions which seek to overturn unjust laws and set new precedents. None of that happens without lawyers, and the victim in the OP isn't going to see one thin dime without them.

[Fumesucker]

41. There's a perception that lawyers get paid for what and who they know

Rather than what they do.

Plus I suspect being a lawyer turns you cynical pretty quickly and that shows.

[Poll_Blind]

16. Hey--> Worth reading the second paragraph in the OP carefully.

I actually didn't get this aspect fully until I read it a second time. This wasn't done by her agent, per se. It was allegedly done by her agent's son-in-law when her agent became ill. Sounds like her agent was also elderly and in poor health.

Understand that both the author and her long-time agent have allegedly victimized in this situation.

Just thought I'd draw extra attention to that aspect of it.

PB

[elleng]

18. Yes, interesting,

'filed in federal court in Manhattan against Samuel Pinkus, the son-in-law of Lee's long-time agent,' and the 'old,' first agent appears to have continued to represent her. 'According to the lawsuit, Pinkus in 2007 "engaged in a scheme to dupe."'

[Wheezy]

21. There are many wonderful literary agents.

Sadly, this is not one of them.

But I know many who work tirelessly for the best interests of their authors. I'm sorry they are getting lumped into some sort of heinous group due to this story.

Edited to add: If this is true, I am sick about the way Harper Lee was treated. What a f*cking shame. She is a hero of mine.

[wordpix]

22. all American classic - go get 'em (again), Harper

[condoleeza]

32. Hope she kicks his ass n/t

Last edited Sat May 4, 2013, 06:55 AM - Edit history (1)

[Omaha Steve]

33. Truman Capote wrote it

It was a gift!

[xocet]

34. That is an interesting comment....

More information:

To Kill a Mockingbird
Reader's Guide - About the Author

Harper Lee (b. 1926)

If Nelle Harper Lee ever wanted proof that fame has its drawbacks, she didn't have to look farther than her childhood neighbor, Truman Capote. After her enormously successful first novel, she has lived a life as private as Capote's was public.

...

The Friendship of Harper Lee and Truman Capote

Nelle Harper Lee and Truman Capote became friends in the early 1930s as kindergarteners in Monroeville, Alabama. They lived next door to each other: Capote with aunts and uncles, Lee with her parents and three siblings. From the start they loved reading and recognized in each other "an apartness," as Capote later expressed it. When Lee's father gave them an old Underwood typewriter, they began writing original stories. Although Capote moved to New York City in the third grade to join his mother and stepfather, he returned to Monroeville most summers, eventually providing the inspiration for Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird.

In 1948 Capote published his first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms. Around that time, Lee quit law school and joined Capote in New York to work at becoming a writer, too. Years of menial jobs followed until To Kill a Mockingbird was ready for publication. Capote read the manuscript and made editorial suggestions. She, in her turn, accompanied him to Kansas to help research In Cold Blood.

After To Kill a Mockingbird was published, Capote resented Lee's success. He could have tried harder to dispel baseless rumors that the novel was as much his work as hers. Their friendship continued during the 1960s and '70s, but Capote's drug and alcohol abuse strained the relationship. Later he would stop publishing and sink into self-parody, sponging off high society and making endless rounds of the talk-show circuit. When Capote died in 1984, Lee confided to friends that she hadn't heard from him in years.

...

http://www.neabigread.org/books/mockingbird/mockingbird04.php

Thanks to your comment and Google for allowing me to find the NEA website...The Big Read (http://www.neabigread.org/)!

[JaneQPublic]

47. Thanks for sharing this. nt