> Here's a thought: Someone who finds their FAQ, or substantial portions
> thereof, published somewhere without compensation, could send an itemized
> bill to the "Accounts Payable" department of the publisher. Include the
> title of the book, author's/editor's name, and something like "Consideration
> for Material Excerpted Without Permission from Blurfl FAQ -- 1000 words,
> pages 37-39: $500.00." If they challenge it, send a copy of your FAQ. If
> they ignore it, dun them three times and turn it over to a collection
> agency. In any case the editor's gonna have some 'splainin' to do.
An appealing idea, but the second part at least wouldn't work. You don't
have a legally binding receivable that can be sold to a collection agency.
One of the difficulties here is that FAQs are a free good under the
current setup. They are available to anyone who has access, at only the
cost of time and connection. The CD-ROM and book folks will claim that
they "add value" by putting a bunch of stuff under one cover, and it is
*that* value they are charging for. A good intellectual property attorney
might be able to convince a jury otherwise, but it sounds like a tough
case.
john
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