In lawsuit with publishers, open textbook startup Boundless hits back — paidContent

abernard102@gmail.com 2013-02-14

Summary:

"In its ongoing lawsuit with three of the biggest textbook publishers, open textbook startup Boundless is down, but by no means is it out. Last spring, the Boston-based startup said it had raised $8 million in venture funding just as Pearson, Cengage and Macmillan Higher Education slapped it with a lawsuit alleging several violations, including copyright infringement, unfair competition and false advertising. Boundless curates and packages free online content into open textbook alternatives tailored to students’ learning needs. In June, the startup filed a motion to dismiss a few of the claims and said the other claims were without merit. But last month, a U.S. District Court Judge in New York denied the motion to dismiss. Undeterred, Boundless this week filed another response, requesting a trial by jury. 'In our view, such legal action [by the publishers] is an attempt to stifle startups such as Boundless who are driving innovation and using the power of the Internet to help students save money and become better learners,' Boundless CEO and founder Ariel Diaz said in a statement. Pearson, Cengage and Macmillan Higher Education did not immediately reply to requests for comment. But in their complaint, the publishers allege that Boundless 'steals the creative expression of others, willfully and blatantly violating Plaintiffs’ intellectual property rights in several of their highest profile signature textbooks.' Specifically, they say that Boundless copies 'the distinctive selection, arrangement and presentation of Plaintiffs’ textbooks, along with other original text, imagery and protected expression.' In its defense, Boundless argues that the allegations are 'overly broad and legally flawed' and that the similarities between the publishers’ textbooks and their online content are the result of covering the same facts and concepts in an order necessitated by the subject matter..."

Link:

http://paidcontent.org/2013/02/14/in-lawsuit-with-publishers-open-textbook-startup-boundless-hits-back/

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » abernard102@gmail.com

Tags:

oa.new oa.business_models oa.publishers oa.comment oa.oer oa.litigation oa.courseware oa.cengage oa.boundless oa.pearson oa.macmillian

Date tagged:

02/14/2013, 12:34

Date published:

02/14/2013, 09:13