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(UPDATED) Harper Collins Sues Gawker Over Sarah Palin Book Excerpts

» 24 comments

Sarah Palin‘s new book, America By Heart, is set for release next Tuesday. Savvy internet readers, however, have already gotten a taste for what’s in store thanks to Gawker, which scrounged up some leaked pages and posted them last Tuesday. While the excerpts didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know about Palin already– she is proud of her family, supports the Tea Party– the book’s publisher, Harper Collins, is not happy and has sent their lawyers after Gawker for leaking the text.

According to the AP, the complaint was filed on Friday for copyright infringement:

The legal complaint was filed Friday in federal court in Manhattan, said a spokeswoman for HarperCollins Publishers. The filing came two days after Gawker published images of 21 of the book’s pages and its dedication page. In response, Palin tweeted, “Isn’t that illegal?”

Her publisher contends it is. The lawsuit asks that Gawker be banned from what it terms “further copyright infringement” and that Gawker deliver the source material to the publisher so it can be destroyed. HarperCollins is also seeking financial damages.

Gawker replied in predictable style, mocking Palin’s Twitter account, welcoming her to the site, and suggesting she “read the law.” Oh, and they have also not removed the leaked pages, though by Tuesday the excerpts will be legally available. That said, Gawker was not the first website to publish the excerpts (that honor goes to Alaska-based blog “Palingates”), but it is certainly the most widely-read of the blogs publishing to have done so.

(UPDATE)
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Saturday ordered Gawker Media to pull leaked pages of Sarah Palin’s forthcoming book “America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag” from its blog.

The injunction prohibits Gawker from “continuing to distribute, publish or otherwise transmit pages from the book” pending a hearing on Nov. 30.

Read the Judge’s Ruling below:
Gawker Preliminary Injunction

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  • BatBoy

    Go get em Sarah!

  • Harry Flashman

    Watch as the left contorts itself in spasms of hatred while yet another Palin book becomes a national bestseller and tries to tear the book apart, taking every phrase, every word they can and twisting it with the drooling hatred of the truly ugly. And it will sell anyway. Go figure.

    This is fun. They HATE that woman and will do anything they can to drag her down to their level, whick is gutter level low. Yet she wins each and every fight they pick. Heh.

    The hacks at Gawker have the literary version of penis envy. She writes what will be another national bestseller and they……write for Gawker.

  • BlackWidow

    You mean what Palins ghost writer wrote!! More trailer trash gossip.

  • SmartAlec

    BlackWidow said:
    More trailer trash gossip.

    And how would you know? Did you get an advanced copy?

    “Green with envy widow”, you are showing you true colors.

  • SmartAlec

    your

  • juan

    BlackWidow said:
    You mean what Palins ghost writer wrote!! More trailer trash gossip.

    Err -FYI: Bill Ayers wrote Obama’s books!

  • juan

    BlackWidow said:
    More trailer trash gossip.

    You 20%ers are TOTAL LOSERS!

  • Nacho

    The “leaked” material generated free publicity then they double up the exposure with a well publicized law suit. Sarah is victum once again.

    This must be a really important book, I can’t wait till Tuesday.

    HarperCollins: We sell books.

  • Just4thefax

    Fact: Palin is still undefeated in the courts!

  • BlackWidow

    juan said:
    You 20%ers are TOTAL LOSERS!

    Actually I am not one of those 20%.

  • TangledThorns

    Sarah Palin wins… again :) The Palins have had an awesome month!

  • CaptainAmerica

    Score another one for Palin who actually knows COPYRIGHT law!

    Mediaite should learn from this. They don’t understand the law. They think they can show 7 straight minutes of a tv show and other things and hide behind “fair use”.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Jefferson/681613506 Chris Jefferson

    Palingates is not an Alaska-based blog. Otherwise, HC would have sued them by now for copyright infringement. Palingates operates out of Germany, behind the firewall of German law. We over at C4P have always wondered why that is so, and I for one find it somewhat suspicious, but there you have it. Palingates has several Alaska-based bloggers, however.

    The injunction today is a major triumph for Harper Collins and Palin. Gawker Media LLC should have known better than to publish unredacted, whole pages of content from a book that wasn’t even off embargo. They are going to get crucifield. The people at Gawker were jerks because they were dealing with Palin, and they decided to be asshats about it.

  • murf

    BlackWidow said:
    You mean what Palins ghost writer wrote!! More trailer trash gossip.

    Waah trailer waaah trash waah stupiiidwaaAh I’m obessed … She’s sooooo stooooopid .. But .. But I’m obessed with criticizing her .. Waaah waaah stoopid

  • Big_F-ing_Deal

    I wonder if I can sue Gawker too? They made me read a small part of that idiots book.

  • TfT

    The person who led the character assassination of Palin (aka Kathleen Parker, the giggler of CNN) has proven herself to be an idiot with her claims…..I’m surprised mediaite hasn’t picked up on Kathleen’s stupidity…well, actually, I’m not surprised at all, Kathleen is another liberal elite protected by other liberal elites. But the truth is, Kathleen needs to go back to school and learn some history.

    Gawker, who scoffed at Palin, is the loser here. Slapped down and rightly so, and yet mediaite also scoffed at Sarah and her publisher by standing with Gawker and mocking Sarah.

    Sharah has released her own excerpt on her facebook page.

    Who are the idiots? Hint: It’s not Palin but Gawker and Frances.

    Put your PDS away Frances, you have embarrassed yourself once again.

  • Harry Flashman

    Oh my….

    Dontcha just love it?

    Once again the snide little children on the left are smacked down when adults get involved. If you read the the links about Fair Use provided by Gawker in their snarky reply (which apparently they didn’t – or did and couldn’t understand them) they specifically warn that unpublished material isn’t covered by Fair Use.

    Was Gawker wrong in a legal as well as a moral sense? Yep. Did Sarah palin just hoist them on their own petard?

    You betcha.

  • Pablo

    Gawker replied in predictable style, mocking Palin’s Twitter account, welcoming her to the site, and suggesting she “read the law.”

    NEW YORK — A federal judge on Saturday ordered Gawker Media to pull leaked pages of Sarah Palin’s forthcoming book “America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag” from its blog.

    I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there.

  • Pablo

    Page Not Found (404)

    That’s funny too.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Maliheh-Banoo/100001527498988 Maliheh

    Speaking of sarah Palin, and the founding fathers, since both have been discussed in these particular comments, I remember when sarah Palin and Beck chatted up founding fathers and sarah Palin said her favorite was “all of them” what a ditz… she is– like she did in regards to the newspapers she reads in her disastrous interview with Katie Couric– before settling on George Washington after glenn Beck indicated he wasn’t too keen on that response from her …ask sarah palin to name the other founding fathers besides george washington and saying ‘all of them’ is not an accurate answer,sarah palin is a quitter, and we Americans can’t stand a quitter. i could discuss other things like sarah palin’s indulgent self interests or her lack of knowledge regarding foreign affairs, but now, since she bailed as Governor of Alaska, she will always have that stigma as a quitter and a right wing media whore and unelectable to be president

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Maliheh-Banoo/100001527498988 Maliheh

    i did not see where gawker was breaking the law and only show exerpts of sarah palin’s book,i did not see any wrongdoing here..many people do this before a book is out

  • sarainitaly

    Did Gawker read those fair use links they suggested Sarah Palin read? UPDATED- Judge orders Gawker to pull pages
    http://rubyslippersblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/did-gawker-read-those-fair-use-links.html

    “Gawker published photographic copies of pages of the book, well beyond what might have been deemed necessary for criticism or commentary, for the sole purpose of allowing their readers to Gawk at them and mock them. Gawker took Sarah Palin’s original copyrighted expression when they could have substituted their own words to express the ideas contained in the book but who would gawk at that? They also appear to have been either too lazy or so blatantly antagonistic they didn’t even bother to whittle down the amount copied to a key phrase or sentence here or there. Again, they just wanted the reader to gawk at 21 pages of Palin’s work before it had a chance to hit the market. ”

    http://patterico.com/2010/11/21/snark-fail-gawker-mocks-sarah-palin-for-her-supposedly-stupid-yet-ultimately-correct-legal-position/

    Pablo said:
    I don’t care who you are, that’s funny right there.

    right on!

    Palin aside – I can’t believe you would be allowed to print ANYONE’s book before it even hits the shelves, without their permission. I don’t get that one at all.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Treacher/542957672 Jim Treacher

    Maliheh said:
    Speaking of sarah Palin, and the founding fathers, since both have been discussed in these particular comments, I remember when sarah Palin and Beck chatted up founding fathers and sarah Palin said her favorite was “all of them” what a ditz… she is– like she did in regards to the newspapers she reads in her disastrous interview with Katie Couric– before settling on George Washington after glenn Beck indicated he wasn’t too keen on that response from her …ask sarah palin to name the other founding fathers besides george washington and saying ‘all of them’ is not an accurate answer,sarah palin is a quitter, and we Americans can’t stand a quitter. i could discuss other things like sarah palin’s indulgent self interests or her lack of knowledge regarding foreign affairs, but now, since she bailed as Governor of Alaska, she will always have that stigma as a quitter and a right wing media whore and unelectable to be president

    You should do that. Go ahead.

  • Seeing 2012 From My Window

    Maliheh says:
    i did not see where gawker was breaking the law and only show exerpts of sarah palin’s book,i did not see any wrongdoing here..many people do this before a book is out

    I’m shocked you find nothing wrong here, Palin hater

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