Follett Custom Publishing Co. has reached settlements with two separate copy centers that Follett charged with copyright infringement.
In the more comprehensive agreement, Follett settled a copyright claim against Krishna Copy Center in Berkeley, Calif., in which Follett charged the store with illegal reproduction of course packs containing copyrighted material produced by Follett. Under the settlement, Krishna made an undisclosed payment to Follett and agreed to observe a number of conditions including refraining from copying any Follett course packs in the future, placing a newspaper ad offering a refund to any customer who purchased infringed copies of Follett's course packs, posting a policy statement notifying their patrons not to copy copyrighted materials and paying a financial penalty for any future occurrences of copyright infringement.
The second settlement was with College Book Centers in Glendale, Ariz. Follett, along with author Shirley Petras, charged that College Book Centers obtained a copy of Petras's CIS 105 Lab Guide, removed the copyright notice and duplicated and sold copies at its store. In connection with the settlement, CBC offered a full refund to any person who bought the guide from CBC and also offered an apology to the students and faculty of Glendale Community College.
Kim Bollinger, chief operating officer of Follett Custom Publishing, said the agreements "reinforce our commitment to protecting the rights of intellectual property rights holders. As we move forward with our digital products in the future, protecting the rights of copyright owners will be more important than ever."
