Case 1:12-cv-10614-MLW Document 1 Filed 04/06/12 Page 1 of 6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS ____________________________________ ) LESTER LEFKOWITZ ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) C.A. # ) HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT ) PUBLISHING COMPANY and ) JOHN DOE PRINTERS 1-10 ) ) Defendants. ) ___________________________________ ) COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND Plaintiff Lester Lefkowitz (Lefkowitz) for his Complaint against Defendants Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company (Houghton) and John Doe Printers 1-10 alleges: STATEMENT OF ACTION 1. This is an action for copyright infringement brought by Lefkowitz, the holder of

all copyrights to the photographs described hereafter and originally licensed for limited use by Houghton, against Defendants for uses of Plaintiffs photographs without his authority or permission. PARTIES 2. Lefkowitz is an independent professional photographer who is a United States

citizen and who resides in Stony Brook, New York. 3. Houghton is a Delaware corporation with its main office located in Boston, Houghton sells and distributes

Massachusetts and is a publisher of educational textbooks.

textbooks via its employees and agents in Massachusetts and throughout the United States, including the publications in suit and ancillary materials, in which Plaintiffs photographs are

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unlawfully reproduced.

At all times pertinent to the allegations herein, Houghton acted through

its various imprints and divisions, as identified in Exhibit 1, attached hereto. 4. John Doe Printers 1-10 are the printers of some or all of the publications in suit

and ancillary materials whose identities are known to Houghton but unknown to Plaintiff. JURISDICTION 5. This is an action for injunctive relief, statutory damages, monetary damages, and This Court has jurisdiction over the

interest under the copyright laws of the United States.

subject matter of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1331 (federal question) and 1338 (copyright). VENUE 6. Venue is appropriate in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391(a) and (b) and

28 U.S.C. 1400(a). FACTS COMMON TO ALL COUNTS 7. Lefkowitz is the owner and exclusive copyright holder of the attached

photographic images (Photographs) depicted in Exhibit 1. 8. 9. The Photographs have been registered with the United States Copyright Office. Houghton used the Photographs in various educational publications as set forth

herein, initially obtaining the images from Corbis Corporation, a stock photography agency. 10. Houghton used Lefkowitzs Photographs in publications as set forth in Exhibit 1.

The licenses granted to Houghton were expressly limited by number of copies, distribution area, language, duration and/or media.

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11.

Upon information and belief, Houghton exceeded the permitted uses under the

terms of the limited licenses for the publications identified in Exhibit 1, and, beginning in 1998, for other publications yet to be discovered. 12. Houghton alone knows the full extent to which it has infringed Lefkowitzs

copyrights by violating his license limits. 13. Exhibit 1. Houghtons practice of infringing copyrights extends beyond the publications in While the lost licensing fee to any individual copyright holder is relatively small, on

information and belief, Houghton has sold and distributed millions of these publications, generating billions in revenue and profits. Houghtons business model, built on a foundation of

pervasive and willful copyright infringement, deprived Plaintiff and thousands of other visual art licensors of their rightful compensation and unjustly enriched Houghton with outlandish profits in the process. 14. Houghton did not simply take the intellectual property of photographers, artists, Instead, it licensed the copyrighted works of others for low

and illustrators without a license.

numbers of reproductions, but surreptitiously copied them many times beyond the agreed-upon license limit. This lulled licensors into a false sense of trust; if photographers saw their licensed works reproduced in a Houghton textbook, they suspected nothing untoward. Moreover, the

licensing of a specific number of copies created the expectation that additional uses by Houghton would be requested and the licensors would be paid if more copies were made. By this

contrivance Houghton fraudulently concealed its wrongdoing by throwing licensors, including Plaintiff, "off the scent." 15. Houghton did not disclose its unauthorized use to the licensors.

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16.

Upon information and belief, John Doe Printers 1-10 are the printers of the And, on information and

publications in suit and other publications that may be discovered.

belief, they printed copies in excess of the licenses granted by Plaintiff and earned profits from such printings. 17. All exhibits attached hereto are incorporated into this Complaint by this reference. COUNT I (Copyright Infringement: Houghton) 18. Plaintiff incorporates herein by this reference each and every allegation contained

in the paragraphs set forth above. 19. The foregoing acts of Houghton constitute infringements of Plaintiffs copyrights

in the Photographs in violation of 17 U.S.C. 501 et seq. 20. Photographs. COUNT II (Copyright Infringement: John Doe Printers 1-10) 21. Plaintiff incorporates herein by this reference each and every allegation contained Plaintiff suffered damages as a result of Houghtons unauthorized use of the

in the paragraphs set forth above. 22. The foregoing acts of John Doe Printers 1-10 in printing the publications in suit

and other publications that may be discovered constitute infringements of Plaintiffs copyrights in the Photographs, in violation of 17 U.S.C. 501 et. seq. 23. Plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the unauthorized printing of his

Photographs by John Doe Printers 1-10.

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PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests the following relief from this Honorable Court: 1. A permanent injunction against Defendants and anyone working in concert with

them from copying, displaying, distributing, selling or offering to sell Plaintiffs Photographs described in this Complaint and Plaintiffs photographs not included in suit. 2. As permitted under 17 U.S.C. 503, impoundment of all copies of Plaintiffs

Photographs used in violation of Plaintiffs exclusive copyrights as well as all related records and documents and, at final judgment, destruction or other reasonable disposition of the unlawfully used Photographs, including digital files and any other means by which they could be used again by Defendants without Plaintiffs authorization. 3. An award of Plaintiffs actual damages and all profits derived from the

unauthorized use of Plaintiffs Photographs or, where applicable and at Plaintiffs election, statutory damages. 4. 5. An award of Plaintiffs reasonable attorneys fees. An award of Plaintiffs court costs, expert witness fees, interest and all other

amounts authorized under law. 6. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

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JURY DEMAND Plaintiff demands a trial by jury of all issues permitted by law.

Dated: April 5, 2012

Respectfully submitted, LESTER LEFKOWITZ, Plaintiff By his attorneys, /s/ Paul J. Andrews Paul J. Andrews BBO#558574 DENNER PELLEGRINO, LLP 4 Longfellow Place, 35th Floor Boston, MA 02114 Tel. 617.227.2800 Fax 617.973.1562 /s/ Maurice Harmon Maurice Harmon (PHV admission to be requested) HARMON & SEIDMAN, LLC The Pennsville School 533 Walnut Drive Northampton, PA 18067 Tel. 610.262.9288 Fax 610.262.9288 E-mail: Maurice@harmonseidman.com