Going Rogue Or Going Rouge: Which Book Will You Buy?
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
The Really: Nobody is going to get these two books confused because everybody can spell “rouge”, I mean “rogue.”
Did you ever want to be a lawyer? No? Me neither, but the simultaneous publication of the above two books (one by Sarah Palin, one a collection of essays collected by editors of The Nation) has caused quite the internet dust-up.
But will Palin’s publisher (HarperCollins) even bother trying to enjoin the publication of the Rouge Book? All of of the legal eagles will be getting the whole point wrong thinking that ROUGE is protected by the First Amendment protecting free speech and parody. Wrong. As the Huffington Post points out, ROUGE is not a parody, but a collection of essays about Palin though the COVER may be a different story.
It is far more likely that any legal action would center around the “unfair competition” aspect and the Lanham Act regarding infringement of trademark even if Sarah Palin is not the holder of the ROUGE copyright. Also the ROUGE book is being offerred only as “print-on-demand” which means it will not being going head-to-head with Palin’s book in the stores per se.
But here is the real question: If you are sitting with the Queen (Oprah) do you deign to swat a fly that is bothering you? Do you stoop to smash the little bug of a book that is buzzing gnat-like about the cornerstone of the EMPIRE you seek to build upon this rock which is Going Rogue?
While the law is there and would likely get a hearing maybe it is too much trouble. We will see and we will be watching though not necessarily reading.
[...] a school-sanctioned dance, but his defense attorney says he was just trying to break up a fight. Going Rogue Or Going Rouge: Which Book Will You Buy? – blogreally.com 10/27/2009 The Really: Nobody is going to get these two books confused [...]