Lawsuit Puree: Sneaky Chef Charges Seinfelds with Plagiarism and Defamation
Sneaky Chef author Missy Chase Lapine filed suit in New York yesterday
against Jessica Seinfeld and Jerry Seinfeld, alleging copyright and
trademark infringement in Jessica's book Deceptively Delicious, and
accusing Jerry of a "malicious campaign" against Lapine, in which he
called her a "nut job" and "a wacko."
Up until now, Lapine has had a more modest position on the issue of
infringement. When the story first broke in October, she told the NYT,
"Honestly I can't speculate, and I'm not going to accuse anyone of
anything. I suppose it's possible it's a coincidence." The lawsuit
acknowledges as much, saying that "she did not, until the filing of
this complaint, make any specific accusations against Jessica
Seinfeld." It may not help their infringement case, but the point is
raised in the filing to bolster the defamation claim.
Nonetheless, Lapine now maintains in the suit that Seinfeld's book "in
its content, artwork and overall look and feel is substantially
similar," and alleges that "Seinfeld willfully misappropriated the
book's original concept, expression, methodology, organization,
structure, design, styling, look and feel."
The specific similarities cited in the suit are either general
Bookscan figures for 2007 tracked sales of
approximately 581,000 copies for Seinfeld's book through mid-December;
Running Press says The Sneaky Chef currently has approximately 190,000
copies in print.
Unusually, the suit does not name publisher Collins or packager Melcher
Media as plaintiffs, and Perseus is not a party to the action. In a
statement, Running Press says, "We appreciate the very serious concerns
of our author Missy Chase Lapine and we support her right to take steps
to protect her intellectual property and to defend her reputation. We
have no comment on legal steps we may or may not take, other than to
confirm that at this time we are not participating in this lawsuit or
filing a lawsuit of our own, although we are reserving all of our legal
rights."
Lapine's lawyer Marc Kasowitz says, "She really brought this as a
matter of principle to vindicate her own rights and her original work
as well as her reputation."
The Seinfeld's attorney Richard Menaker says of the claims, "Both are
without merit. There's no truth in fact or law to this claim of
plagiarism. The idea for Jessica Seinfeld's book came from her own
experiences with her family out of her own kitchen." As for the
defamation claim, Menaker said, "Jerry Seinfeld is entitled to his
opinions. Even though Jerry Seinfeld is a public figure, he doesn't
lose his right to free speech because of that."
Press
release
Macmillan Bets on Custom College Textbooks
Macmillan is expected to announce the acquisition of Hayden-McNeil
Publishing, a custom textbook publisher that "works with about 300
professors, academic departments and universities to produce textbooks
tailored to a class or a curriculum. Its specialty is science textbooks
and laboratory manuals, but it has recently expanded into subjects in
the humanities."
Macmillan president Brian Napack indicates that custom publishing is
the fastest-growing part of the textbook market.
NYT
Raincoast Halts Domestic Publishing Program
Canadian publisher and distributor Raincoast survived the collapse of
AMS last year but they are having more trouble balancing the rising
Canadian dollar. The company announced "it will cease publishing
Canadian-written titles by the middle of this year in addition to
shedding as many as a dozen client publishers whose books it was
distributing across Canada, closing the Toronto warehouse it opened in
2001 and laying off 10 to 15 per cent of its total staff – 20
employees, in fact, including its five-member domestic publishing
division."
The program has published 25 to 30 books a year. They say the
publishers they are dropping will be named in the "next couple of
weeks." VP of marketing Jamie Broadhurst says, "There has been a
fundamental sea change in the Canadian book industry. Canadians have
spoken loud and clearly in terms of what they feel is a fair price for
books, and publishers and distributors are going to have to adapt to
that new reality."
The Globe and Mail says it "should be seen as a back-to-the-basics
move, and a return to Raincoast's core competency, as a distributor
that represents an estimated 50 domestic and foreign-owned publishers,
including Bloomsbury U.K., Bloomsbury U.S., Chronicle Books, Lonely
Planet, Grove Atlantic and Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin."
Globe
and Mail
What Everyone Else Is Reading
Today's full Lunch Deluxe includes stories and links
on:
Proposal News
BN's Lists
Another List of Lists
Google Beach Print?
Judge Rejects Cussler's Claim for Payment
plus our weekly analysis of over a dozen major bestseller lists from
around the country and dozens of new deals.
Meanwhile, PublishersMarketplace.com always features all of the unique
data and tools that drive business every day: Unlimited access to
deals, our new Top Dealmakers (with 180 lists of busy agents, agencies,
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Personnel News
Chronicle's vp of sales, marketing and business development Abby
Hoffman has decided to leave the publisher to join its parent company
the McEvoy Group in the new, part-time position of director for
business development. Current executive director of sales Tyrrell
Mahoney has been promoted to Hoffman's position. Mahoney has been with
Chronicle since 1996, when she started as international sales manager.
Matthew Elblonk has joined The Creative Culture as an agent. He was
formerly at Collins Literary.
Joe Reynolds has been promoted to president of
Ingram Library Services and group managing director of Coutts
Information Services, as well as svp of Ingram Book Group. He joined
Ingram Library Services a year ago as vp and general manager. Coutts
head Stephen Wilson left the company at the beginning of the year.
In the Random House publicity department, Jennifer
Huwer has been promoted to senior publicist, and Karen Fink has been
promoted to senior publicist. In Ballantine's publicity department,
David Moench has been promoted to assistant director of publicity, and
Lisa Barnes has been promoted to publicity manager.
The Latest Jobs
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Product Manager [Full Time]
Baker & Taylor Marketing Services (San Diego, CA)
Senior Editor, Kimani Romance [Full Time]
Harlequin (New York, NY)
Publicist - Pantheon [Full Time]
Random House (New York, NY)
Art Director, Pharmaceutical Representative Magazine [Full Time]
Advanstar Communications, Inc. (New York, NY)
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Bhutto Book Set for February
Harper announced that they will publish the late Benazir Bhutto's
RECONCILIATION: Islam, Democracy, and the West, on February 12.
Bhutto's husband and children have added a "short afterword."
They call the book an "argument for a reconciliation of Islam with
democratic principles, in the face of opposition from Islamic
extremists and Western skeptics. Drawing on her own faith, and on her
own bitter experience of division and hatreds in Pakistan, she speaks
movingly and persuasively of a future for Pakistan within the Islamic
world and presents arguments that resonate with extraordinary
power. In the book she writes of her own joy in returning to
Pakistan in October and the tragic circumstances of the terrible
assassination attempt and links these events with her own implacable
belief in a democratic future for her country."
Canseco Co-Author Quits
Former Sports Illustrated editor Don Yaeger has decided not to
collaborate with Jose Canseco on his next book, VINDICATED. "I'm
passing," he said. "I had a chance to review the (material) that he
provided me. I don't think there's a book there. I
don't know what they're going to do. I don't think he's got what he
claims to have, certainly doesn't have what he claims to have on A-Rod.
There's no meat on the bones." Yaeger added (a little suspiciously for
someone who was supposed to be a co-author), "The thing is, if he had
all this material, why wasn't it in the first book?"
NYDN
Seattle's M. Coy Books to Close
Seattle independent bookstore M. Coy Books & Espresso will
close next month after 18 years in their current quarters, where they
lost their lease under new ownership and it "forced them to recognize
that their store's struggles did not justify relocation."
Partner Michael Coy tells the Seattle PI, "Keeping a small independent
bookstore afloat in today's retail environment has become virtually
impossible. We were not immune from that, nor were we alone. I'm
convinced that the only places where small independents can survive are
neighborhoods where locals are protective and voting with their
dollars, places like Queen Anne or Magnolia or Mercer Island."
PI
The Next Swift Boat?
That's what one small publisher is promising to reveal at a press
conference this afternoon in Washington. While political blogs continue
to speculate, we name the book in today's Lunch Deluxe
That's on top of the stories you missed last week, over 100 deals that
went out last night, and capsule coverage of reviews from all the top
newspapers yesterday.
PublishersMarketplace.com always features all of the unique data and
tools that drive business every day: Unlimited access to deals, our new
Top Dealmakers (with 180 lists of busy agents, agencies, editors and
imprints) live contacts, our representation database, comprehensive
coverage of reviews and bestseller lists from all over, special tools
ranging from the Book Tracker to Amazoom, our custom publishing search
index, and the new top reviewers tables.
Plus our popular member pages and blogs bring hundreds of thousands of
focused page views from the publishing world to about 1,300 posted
pages every month.
Start the year off with the most publishing information and resources
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Personnel News
President of B&H Publishing Group Ken Stephens will retire
January 15 after 11 years of leading the trade publishing division of
parent company, LifeWay Christian Resources. SVP and publisher David
Shepherd will serve as interim president.
In a press release issued on Friday, Baker & Taylor announced
the resignation of ceo Richard Willis. He said in the announcement, "I
wanted to spend more time with my family." Controlling owners Castle
Harlan named B&T board member Jack Eugster as the new ceo. He
was ceo of Musicland Stores until his retirement in 2001, and then was
non-executive Chairman of Shopko Stores. Willis is a partner in the
private equity firm that sold controlling interest in B&T to
Castle Harlan in 2006, though Willis Stein retained an ownership stake.
Martin Literary Management has opened a Midwest office in Chicago, with
Ginny Weissman leading a new body, mind and spirit division.
Weissman has been a television writer, Emmy-nominated producer and
director, journalist, author and literary manager and agent. Her
clients include executive producer of Oprah & Friends at Harpo
Radio on XM, John St. Augustine and author Rev. Dr. Terry
Cole-Whittaker.
Reed Business Information's chief internet officer Jeff DeBalko is the
latest person to take the helm of the company's Publishing Group as
president (a comparable role to that held by Bill McGorry, though he
was only an evp). Ron Shank, recently promoted to group publisher of
the publishing magazines (PW, Library Journal, and School Library
Journal) now reports to DeBalko.
Current PW publisher David Nudo will leave the magazine "later this
month
At Independent Publishers Group, Karen Adler has joined the sales team
as educational sales representative. She was previously a buyer for
Scholastic Book Fairs and Books Are Fun.
In the Little, Brown publicity department, Michelle Aielli has been
promoted to associate director of publicity, and she will continue to
represent James Patterson. Marlena Bittner has been promoted to
publicity manager.
More New Jobs
We've added another 7 new job listings just since
Friday morning if you haven't been checking in at our industry-leading
Job Board.
For employers, we provide the unbeatable combination of the largest
circulation in the business by far, a total focus on book publishing
only, and the best prices anywhere.
And for job-seekers, we present great new possibilities every day and
conveniences like an RSS ping to keep you posted on every new offering.
Among the latest:
Art Director, Pharmaceutical
Representative Magazine [Full Time]
Advanstar Communications, Inc. (New York, NY)
Associate Art Director - The Children's Publishing Group [Full Time]
Random House (New York, NY)
Book Designer [Full Time]
Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ)
Literary Agency Assistant/Junior Agent [Full Time]
Liza Dawson Associates (New York, NY)
Sales Manager of Special Accounts [Full Time]
SAGE Publications (Thousand Oaks, CA)
Marketing and Promotions Manager [Full Time]
CQPress (Washington, DC)
Sales and Marketing Director [Full Time]
Cheng & Tsui Company (Boston, MA)
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