Saturday, October 1, 2011

Power in Numbers


I wrote this to a friend after RC Matheson thanked Lisa Morton for informing him that he and his father were plagiarized.  Sadly, I can't remember when I ever been acknowledged for my research and discovery.  If I didn't have a bigger vision, I'd give up.

Anyway, he left the standard cold response: "We'll have our attorney look into it."

For me, the real irritation is that he misses the bigger picture. Actually, it seems like most authors miss the bigger picture. Plagiarism is every writer's problem. It's always been an issue, but with the change to eBooks and with the ease of self publishing, plagiarism for profit is most likely going to increase, especially since there are places like Lulu, CreateSpace, and Smashwords where no skill or knowledge is needed.

By going after Boyer with "Consumer Fraud," we could set a precedence that will help all authors.  Until Ferrel "Rick" Moore, when anyone who wanted to go after a plagiarist who stole there work, they'd have to file a civil suit.  Keep in mind, filing a civil suit is not practical or possible for authors and artist, a case will cost the victim at least $10,000 in attorney fees.  This is probably far more than they can afford, not to mention,  probably far more than they can recover in damages. Needless to say, the plagiarist will go unpunished, become stronger, and continue on victimizing other authors and artists.

On the other hand, "Consumer Fraud" is a crime the state attorney generals can go after, and it will cost the victim no attorney fees. With Boyer, the authors and artists have an advantage because of the extensive number of plagiarism victims...they can ban together pushing for action from the Indiana Attorney General. Sadly, so far, most authors (like Koontz and Matheson) look at plagiarism as a single act- it's just about them, and not worth their time financially.  They miss seeing the bigger picture and realizing the opportunity to help and protect all authors."

Please visit Ferrel "Rick" Moore's blog to find out what you can do to help:
http://thewriterandthewhitecat.blogspot.com/2011/10/call-to-action-for-all-writers.html

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