Model Train Author Paul V. Ambrose Sues Train Collectors Association by Erol Gurcan
Model train author Paul V. Ambrose has sued the national Train Collector’s Association (TCA) and also its Eastern Division, the entity that hosts the yearly York meets in April and October. Although there was a lot of discussion about the lawsuit, little was said about the basis and details of it.
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On September 17, 2007, Ambrose filed a summons and complaint (the document that starts a lawsuit) in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The 46 page complaint accuses the TCA and its Eastern Division of copyright infringement by promoting model train author David Doyle as an authority and expert on model trains and profiting from it with regard to the sales of the book, "Standard Catalog of Lionel Train Sets 1945-1969", by allowing him to do book signings etc. Specifically, the papers claim the value of the promotion given to Doyle by the TCA and its Eastern Division "was substantially greater than $20,000."
Moreover, it alleges that the TCA and its Eastern Division materially contributed to the infringement in the same book by allowing the use of the TCA name on it. That book was released earlier this year. The complaint seeks $450,000 in monetary damages, as well an a preliminary injunction to prevent the TCA and its Eastern Division from continuing to sell and promote the book.
The lawsuit papers state "Doyle is a fraud as an author." Conversely Doyle’s attorney Drew Bauer (the Bauer in AmbroseBauerTrains), proclaims that Ambrose has been the "preeminent author of books" concerning Lionel since 1990 and "has one of the finest Lionel post-war collections in the world…" Ultimately, the lawsuit claims that Ambrose’s reputation as an author and expert on Lionel trains will be ruined and the business of ABT will suffer as a consequence if the infringement is allowed to continue.
As of the present time, since the lawsuit was only filed 11 days ago, there has not been an appearance or answer (the document filed by a defendant in a lawsuit which either admits or denies the allegations in a complaint)interposed by the attorneys for the TCA. Usually, the defendant has 30 days to answer a complaint once its served on him.
The new lawsuit is related to and is an extension of Ambrose’s copyright infringement lawsuit filed in June 2007 against David Doyle and the book’s publisher, Krause Publications. That lawsuit alleges Doyle committed copyright infringement by plagiarizing several portions of written materials from earlier Ambrose books. Specifically, Ambrose has alleged the wording, arrangement and order of the Doyle book is similar to parts of earlier Ambrose works that contained "creative minor and deliberate typos known as "ringers". That case remains pending in the same court as the new lawsuit, and before the same judge, Arthur Schwab.
Shortly after filing the FIRST lawsuit against Doyle and Krause, Ambrose moved for preliminary injunction to prevent Krause from reprinting the Lionel book. On August 28, 2007, the parties entered into a written agreement that Krause would not reprint it for a period of six months, and would have to give plaintiff at least 30 days written notice before it intended to do so. In exchange, plaintiff’s withdrew their motion (an application for a court order) for the preliminary injunction. The agreement did not prevent Krause from continuing to promote the existing inventory of the book. On August 29, the judge signed an order based on this agreement.
What is unusual here is that in the first lawsuit, plaintiff Ambrose agreed to allow defendant Krause to continue to promote existing inventories of the book. However in the recent lawsuit against the TCA and its ED, plaintiff’s have asked for a preliminary injunction to enjoin them from promoting, selling and exhibiting the sale of the book, which would imply it applies to existing inventory since Krause can’t print any new copies for the next 5 months.
Secondly, as of the present time, there has been no judicial determination in the first action that David Doyle and/or Krause was involved in any copyright infringement. Without that determination, since the new lawsuit is an offshoot of the first one, it would appear the new lawsuit is premature.
Is the ultimate purpose of the lawsuit against the TCA only one of intimidation so it will dissociate itself from David Doyle? You decide.
Erol Gurcan
Erol B. Gurcan, an O Gauge industry legal expert, is a regular contributor to OGaugeWatch.com
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Editor’s Note: If you want to subject yourself to all the legal documents related to the lawsuits mentioned in Erol’s article they can be found here.
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- Another Lawsuit…
- The Latest on the newest MTH v. Lionel “Lawsuit” from Erol B. Gurcan
- Rumors of New MTH Lawsuit Not True
- An “Oldie but Goodie”
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One Response to “Model Train Author Paul V. Ambrose Sues Train Collectors Association by Erol Gurcan”
Interesting lawsuit. I guess the o gauge forums over at OGRR will be screaming about the death of the hobby
Oh well, in these litigous days, it doesn’t suprise me, and will not be the death of the hobby. What us hobbyists have to realize is that for these people, this stuff is a business, it pays the bills and feeds the kids, so it has to be protected. Wouldn’t you guard your stash of gold from the hoarding masses?
Posted by: David L Pearce | Oct 2, 2007 at 9:32 PM