The suit is ongoing and Harlan's costs have risen to match.

Harlan Ellison fights for Creators' Rights

Re: Harlan Ellison V. Stephen Robertson, America Online, Inc.,
Remarq Communities, Inc., Critical Path, Inc., Citizen 513, and
Does 1-10, Federal District Court, Central District of California
Civil Case No. 00-04321 FMC (RCX)

22 February 2001

For the past ten months my attorney, M. Christine Valada, and I
have been hip-deep fighting a legal battle, what we think is an
extremely important case:

To protect writers' creative properties.

We filed a lawsuit against the above parties to stop them from
posting my works on The Internet without permission. This is
copyright infringement. Rampant. Out of Control. Pandemic.

AOL, Remarq/Critical Path and a host of self-serving individuals
seem to think that they can allow the dissemination of writers'
work on the internet without authorization, and without payment,
under the banner of "Fair Use" or the idiot slogan "Information
must be free." A writer's work is not information: it is our
creative property, our livelihood and our families' annuity. Why
should any artist, of any kind, continue creating new work, eking
out an existence in pursuit of a career, following the muse, when
little Internet thieves, rodents without ethic or understanding,
steal and steal and steal, conveniencing themselves and "screw the
author"? What we're looking at is the death of the professional
writer!

This is not only my fight, I'm not the only one whose work is being
pirated. Hundreds of writers' stories, entire books, the work of a
lifetime, everyone from Isaac Asimov to Roger Zelazny: their work
has been thrown onto the web by these smartass vandals who find it
an imposition to have to pay for the goods. (But gawd forbid you
try to appropriate something of theirs listen to 'em squeal!) The
outcome of this case will affect every writer, editor,
photographer, artist, musician, poet, sculptor, actor, book
designer, publisher and reader. What we're looking at is the
anarchy of ignorant thieves ripping off those who labor for an
honest payday, because they conveniently honor the lie that
everything should be theirs for the taking.

Look, this is your fight, too. If that demented, self-serving
misunderstanding of the word "information" prevails, and every
zero-ethic tot who wants everything for nothing, who exists in a
time where e-commerce hustlers have convinced him/her that they're
entitled to everything for nothing prevails, and they are permitted
to believe information must be free, with no differentiation made
between raw data and the creative properties that provide all
artists of any kind with an annuity, to allow them to continue
creating new work, then what we're looking at is the egregious
inevitability of no one but amateurs getting their work exposed,
while those who produce the bulk of all professional-level art find
they cannot make a decent living.

Do not, for an instant, buy into the cultural mythology that all
artists are rich. A few are, but most have a hard row to hoe just
subsisting, holding down second jobs. Most creators practice their
art because they love it. If it were only for the bucks, they'd
fare better as dentists, plumbers, or steam fitters. I'm fighting
for myself, of course, but I'm also doing this for Avram Davidson,
who died broke; for Roger Zelazny, who had to work like a dog till
the day he pitched over; and for Gerald Kersh, whose work was
reprinted and pirated in sixty-five countries, while he had to
borrow money from friends to fight off the cancer. This is your
fight, too, gang  and now we need your help!

For the past ten months, my attorney and I have fought this alone.
Although we are loath to ask, we do not have the endless deep
pockets and lawyers (14 at the last count) that benefit large,
arrogant corporations. We now need your financial help. As to the
money being spent for the David-vs.-AOL Goliath lawsuit: yeah, it's
been a bear. We're about forty grand out of pocket, and I've had to
sell off a few personal possessions and magazine files to meet
attorney costs. But we're about to enter the "Discovery phase" of
the litigation, and AOL, Remarq/Critical Path, et al are clearly
trying to "paper us out," and what we've spent up to now will seem
like a fart in a Sirocco. So, yes, oh yes lawd, contributions are
gratefully accepted in this fight to stamp out Internet piracy.

To make absolutely dead certain that no one can even remotely
suggest that contributions went anywhere but to fight this
infringement of writers' rights, we are setting up a new post
office box address, specially and only for receipt of contributions
to what we are now calling kick Internet piracy. And all checks
must be made payable directly to our attorney, M. Christine Valada,
to help cover costs and legal fees.

If you want to help protect your rights, and the careers of writers
whose work you enjoy, please send your contribution a few bucks, or
a lot of bucks to:

Kick Internet Piracy Post office box 55935 Sherman oaks, ca 91413

Please make your check payable to:

Law office of M. Christine Valada

Detailed information on the case prepared by the fighting
barrister, M. Christine Valada can be found at
http://www.harlanellison.com/kick/kick_rls.htm.

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