Battle-Scarred Author Takes On Web Pirates
Author Harlan Ellison , who is best known for his science-fiction stories and TV scripts, has never been shy about defending the sanctity of his prose.
One publishing executive who displeased him received a dead gopher in the mail. He sustained a decades-long feud with Gene Roddenberry because the "Star Trek" creator meddled with his script for the classic episode "The City on the Edge of Forever." After winning a copyright battle with Paramount Pictures over a TV show, Mr. Ellison bought a billboard outside the studio that said: "Writers -- Don't Let Them Steal From You!"
Now Mr. Ellison, 69 years old, is waging a high-stakes appeal in a bigger war over words. Though he lost the initial legal round in a U.S. district court last year, he's pressing ahead with a lawsuit against America Online for copyright infringement. The Internet arm of AOL Time Warner Inc., he charges, didn't act fast enough when a fan posted some of his stories without permission on an online forum carried by the service. America Online says it's not to blame and that it removed the stories once it was aware of them.
While he is seeking money from America Online, Mr. Ellison says the suit is more a crusade to hold Internet service providers accountable for material pirated by their users. "People like AOL have turned this nation and its kids into a nation of thieves, who have no more notion of what's right than the man on the moon," says Mr. Ellison, who says he already has spent more than $300,000 in the three-year legal tussle, most of it his own money. "I really see myself as standing there on the g-d- barricade, with a cudgel in my hand.... We are up against inimical forces. We are up against city hall."
Because it's gotten to the powerful Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the suit could amount to more than the latest spat involving a longtime Hollywood gadfly. Major software firms filed a brief backing Mr. Ellison, and four of the five big record labels -- all except AOL Time Warner's Warner Music Group -- together sent a pair of attorneys to help the author's lawyer argue his appeal. A group of Internet and technology companies, along with AT&T Corp., weighed in on the other side. Since courts are still defining the meaning of digital copyright law, a ruling -- expected in the next several months -- could help set new guidelines on when Internet service providers can be held liable for copyright infringement on their networks.
Mr. Ellison in some ways is an unlikely focal point for a cutting-edge technology issue. He works at a manual typewriter decorated with the motto "I am an artist; and should be exempt from s-." He has been a prominent author and essayist at least since Dorothy Parker called him a "good, honest, clean writer" in 1961. Among his best-known works is a short story titled, "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," about the plight of five human survivors left in a world dominated by a powerful machine. Mr. Ellison has worked in many media, including a 1983 spoken-word album with self-referential tracks such as "Did You Really Mail a Dead Gopher to an Editor?"
His eccentricities have made Mr. Ellison something of a literary celebrity. A young James Caan played a character based on him in an episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" in 1964. A 1972 magazine article called him "5 feet 5 inches of charisma, wit and sarcasm" and included a photo of the author, nude, with the caption, "The writer at work: naked and unashamed." More recently, Mr. Ellison was seen as a "noted futurist" in TV ads for Geo cars.
Mr. Ellison is nearly as famous for his irascible defense of his work. He has taken on Hollywood executives, publishers, editors and anyone else seen as violating his rights. His tiff in 1966 with Mr. Roddenberry didn't end with the producer's 1991 death. In 1996, Mr. Ellison railed that the sci-fi icon had "about as much writing ability as the lowest industry hack."
Mr. Ellison "really defends what he believes," says Walter Koenig, a friend of the author who played Chekov in the original "Star Trek." "Most of Harlan's feuds are epic."
Mr. Ellison keeps copies of every literary contract, copyright renewal and version of each of his works. He has won several legal fights, including one to get a special credit for the original "Terminator" in 1984 because of his claim that the movie drew from his novelette "Soldier" and a script he wrote for the TV series "The Outer Limits." Mr. Ellison bought full-page ads the following year in Hollywood trade publications noting that the film "acknowledges the works of Harlan Ellison ."
The America Online case has taken a toll; in a 2001 deposition, Mr. Ellison testified that he had "under $1,000" in his bank account and had to empty his retirement fund to pay for the suit. Friends worry about his health but don't expect him to back off. "He's got the jaws of a pit bull," says the actor Ed Asner, a longtime acquaintance.
Mr. Ellison has auctioned off possessions and mounted a fund-raising campaign. His "Kick Internet Piracy" Web site lambastes "little Internet thieves, rodents without ethic or understanding, [who] steal and steal and steal." (See harlanellison.com) In an exchange printed in a comics-industry publication, he advised his opponent to "book passage immediately to the tourist venue where the sun don't shine."
Mr. Ellison filed his AOL lawsuit in April 2000 after someone told him that several of his stories were on an online discussion forum available on a network called Usenet and offered through America Online and other providers. His lawyer e-mailed the company, using an address listed by the U.S. Copyright Office for such complaints. A week later, after no response, Mr. Ellison sued America Online. He also sued Stephen Robertson, the individual who posted the stories, and Remarq Communities Inc., a provider of Internet message-board services.
America Online says it blocked access to the online forum as soon as it learned of the stories through the suit, and that the e-mail address listed by the Copyright Office was not current. The online giant adds that because the newsgroup content moved through its servers automatically, America Online qualified for a special copyright liability protection for "intermediate and transitory" content.
The author settled quickly with Mr. Robertson. The 42-year-old, who works at his parents' 10-room motel in Red Bluff, Calif., says he was terrified when he saw the suit and couldn't afford a lawyer. He agreed to pay about $3,600, charging it to a credit-card account that he's still paying off. Critical Path Inc., which acquired Remarq in 2000, also settled for undisclosed terms. AOL kept fighting. In March 2002, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that the company wasn't liable. Mr. Ellison appealed. He says he wants America Online to move faster when a copyright owner informs it about pirated works.
Mr. Ellison's lawyers initially sought as much as $488 million from AOL, according to a court filing. But in his deposition, Mr. Ellison said he wants only "to get recompensed for the money I laid out," plus what his contributors gave and an extra $20 for each donor.
"Please, make a reasonable offer, and I'm out of your hair," he said. If not, he promised: "I'm like a turtle. I'll never let go. I would hawk my house. I would sell my children into bondage. There is nothing I won't do. Ask anybody I've ever been to court with. They'll tell you. I'm a pain in the a-."
作家怒告网络盗版
以创作科幻小说和电视剧本闻名的作家哈伦?艾利森(Harlan Ellison)在维护自己作品的权益时可谓不依不饶。
艾利森给某位惹恼了他的编辑寄去了一只死囊鼠。他和"星际迷航"(Star Trek)连续剧的创作者吉恩?罗登白瑞(Gene Roddenberry)数十年来都不和，因为罗登白恩在该剧的经典一集"边缘都市"(The City on the Edge of Forever)中，借用了艾利森的剧本内容。在与派来蒙电影公司(Paramount Pictures)就一电视剧的版权诉讼中取得胜利后，艾利森在电影公司门外竖了个布告，写著："作家们--别让他们剽窃你的作品。"
现在，69岁的艾利森正在发起一个更引人注目的版权官司。虽然2002年他在美国地方法院输掉了控告美国在线(America Online)侵害其作品版权的第一轮官司，但他正在积极准备上诉。他控告美国在线时代华纳公司(AOL Time Warner Inc.)旗下的这家互联网子公司没有迅速采取措施制止用户未经授权在其论坛张贴其小说章节。美国在线表示，公司不应受到责难，因为他们在发现这种情况后就将小说章节删除了。
虽然艾利森要求美国在线作出经济赔偿，但他说该案更大程度上是为了促使互联网服务商对其用户侵害版权的行为负责。艾利森说，"美国在线这样的公司将这个国家及其年轻人变成了一个贼人横行的国度，年轻一代没有什么是否观。"他表示，在过去三年的诉讼过程中花费了30多万美元，其中绝大多数是从自己掏的钱。艾利森说，"我仿佛是一个手持棍棒的街头卫士....我们和那些敌对势力作斗争，我们和市政厅作斗争。"
由于现在的判决权落在美国第九巡回上诉法庭(Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals)的手上，该案已不仅仅是件普通的版权侵害案。几家主要的软件公司公开表示支持艾利森，五大唱片公司中除美国在线时代华纳公司旗下的华纳音乐(Warner Music Group)以外，其他四家共同聘请了两位律师来协助艾利森的律师进行上诉。包括美国电话电报公司(AT&T Corp.)在内的一些互联网和科技公司则站了另一边。由于法院还在研究如何定义数字版权法中的相关内容，该案的判决（预计在未来数月内做出）将对何时互联网服务商要对其网络中出现的版权侵害行为负责的问题给出新的指导。
从某种角度来说，艾利森本不太可能成为一个尖端技术问题的焦点。他用打字机写作，机器上还饰有他的座右铭"我是一个艺术家，不应受凡事骚扰。"自桃乐茜?派克(Dorothy Parker)1961年称赞他是一个"优秀、诚实和正直的作家"后，艾利森成为一位名声显赫的作家和散文家。他的著名作品包括短篇小说"无声呼啸"(I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream)，该小说描写的是五个幸存者在一个机器统治的世界中生存的故事。艾利森的作品涉及很多媒体，包括一个1983年的语音专辑，里面有他的各种自述，如"你真的给一个编辑寄过死囊鼠吗？"
艾利森的古怪行径使他成为美国文学界的名人。詹姆斯?凯恩(James Caan)年轻时在1964年的电视连续剧"阿尔弗雷德?希区柯克时刻"的一集中扮演了一个以艾利森为原型的角色。1972年，一家杂志的文章中称艾利森"身高5尺5寸却充满魅力、智慧和讽刺精神"，还附了一张作家的裸体照片，附注写道"写作中的艾利森：不著衣服，不知羞耻。"最近，在Geo汽车的电视广告中，艾利森以一个"著名未来学家"的身份出现。
艾利森对自己作品权益的极度维护态度也广为人知。不管是好莱坞制片人、出版商还是编辑，他对侵犯自己权利的人毫不留情。他与罗登白瑞在1966年结下的怨恨并不因后者在1991年的去世而终结。1996年，艾利森指责这位科幻偶像的"剧本写作能力是业内最低的"。
他的朋友、在"星际迷航"第一集中扮演切科夫(Chekov)的沃特?科尼格(Walter Koenig)说，艾利森"坚决维护自己的信念"，艾利森的大多数恩怨情仇都是经典。"
艾利森保存了每份授权合同、版权续签和每件作品的不同版本的副本。他赢得了好几场官司，其中一起还涉及到1984年的电影"终结者"。艾利森指控该电影借用了他的中篇小说《士兵》(Soldier)以及他为电视连续剧"外太空"(The Outer Limits)写的剧本内容。第二年，艾利森在好莱坞行业杂志中买下整幅广告版面，称该电影"承认借鉴了哈伦?艾利森的作品"。
美国在线的案子让艾利森破财不少，在2001年的诉讼证词中，艾利森说自己银行账户里"不到1000美元"，只能耗尽全部退休基金来支付诉讼费。他的朋友担心艾利森的健康状况，但不指望他会退让。"他有一股字牛脾气。"艾利森的老朋友艾德?阿斯纳(Ed Asner)说道。
艾利森拍卖了一些财产，并发起了一场募资活动。他的"打击互联网盗版"网站(harlanellison.com)痛斥道："互联网的小偷，无耻地大肆掠夺，他们除了偷还是偷。"在一个漫画行业的出版物上，他奉劝自己的对手"尽快去订一张前往暗无天日的犯罪天堂的机票"。
2000年4月，艾利森向美国在线提起诉讼。当时有人告诉他，他的小说在一个叫Usenet网络论坛上传播，美国在线等公司正是这种互联网服务的提供商。艾利森的律师按照美国版权局(U.S. Copyright Office)公布的邮件地址向美国在线发送了投诉电子邮件，但杳无音讯。一个星期后，艾利森把美国在线告上法庭，他也控告了在论坛上张贴小说的史蒂芬?罗伯逊(Stephen Robertson)，以及提供论坛服务的Remarq Communities Inc.。
美国在线表示，它在得知被控后立即封闭了那个网上论坛，而且版权局公布的美国在线邮件地址已经过时。这个互联网巨头补充说，由于新闻组内容是自动通过其服务器中转的，美国在线享有对"中介和即时"内容的特殊版权责任保护。
艾利森和罗伯逊很快达成调解。42岁的罗伯逊在其父母开的小汽车旅馆工作，他说自己看到法院传票后吓呆了，而且请不起律师。他同意支付约3600美元，从他的一个信用卡帐户中逐月扣除。2000年收购了Critical Path Inc.的Remarq也达成了和解，但未透露条款。美国在线则继续抗诉。2002年3月，美国加州中区地方法院(U.S. District Court for the Central District of California)判定美国在线无需承担责任。艾利森提起了上诉。他表示他希望当一个版权拥有者通知盗版现象时美国在线能有更快的反应。
根据法庭记录，艾利森的律师起初要求美国在线赔偿4.88亿美元。但在诉讼证词中，艾利森表示只要求"补偿他为诉讼所支出的费用"，并补偿其捐款人的捐赠金额，再向每个捐款人额外补偿20美元。
"拜托，给个合理的赔偿，我就不烦你们了。"艾利森说道。否则，他发誓说："我就象只乌龟，咬住就不松口，就是卖屋卖儿陪你打官司也在所不惜。去问问和我打过官司的人吧，他们会告诉你，我是一条附骨之蛆。"
