: Re: Who is responsible for copyrighted materials (publisher or writer)? Imagine that Writer A's book includes copyrighted material created by Creator B, and Creator B sues for copyright infringement.

@Courtney562

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In the scenario of Creator B's work being included in Writer A's work without approval, Creator B will go after both the writer and the publisher. Writer A is obviously liable for using Creator B's work, and the publisher is liable for assisting in the infringing by distributing the book. The publisher also is going to have far deeper pockets than Writer A.

Unfortunately for publishers, it is difficult to root out plagiarism. The very recent case of Jonah Lehrer shows that once they find out about it, they usually act swiftly not to defend the plagiarist, but to distance themselves from him.

The laws surrounding publishing are complex, but the most important thing to remember is that copyright is a negative right, meaning that the creator of the work has the ability to stop others from distributing his or her work. It also means that everyone connected with the infringement is likely to get sued.

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