HarperCollins Publishers LLC v. Open Road Integrated Media, LLP

In 1971, author Jean George entered into an agreement with Harper & Row (now known as HarperCollins Publishers LLC) (plaintiff) for the publication of her children’s novel Julie of the Wolves. Paragraph 1 of the agreement granted to HarperCollins the exclusive right to publish Julie of the Wolves in book form. Paragraph 20 enabled HarperCollins to grant licenses to use the novel, subject to Ms. George’s consent, in storage and retrieval and informational systems, which could include “computer, computer-stored, mechanical or other electronic means now known or hereafter invented.” Later, in 2010, Open Road Integrated Media, LLP (defendant) contacted Ms. George to propose publication of her novel as an e-book. Ms. George invited HarperCollins to match the compensation fee offered by Open Road, but HarperCollins declined to publish an e-book on the same terms. Believing that she—not HarperCollins—owned the e-book rights, Ms. George instead entered into an agreement with Open Road for the publication of Julie of the Wolves as an e-book. Shortly after Open Road released its edition, HarperCollins filed suit against Open Road, claiming that the e-book infringed its copyright interest in Julie of the Wolves under the 1971 agreement. Open Road responded that there was no infringement because e-book publication rights were outside the scope of the 1971 agreement.