Court rules that Ragen knowingly copied from writer Sarah Shapiro's work in her novel Sotah.
After four years of adjudication, the Jerusalem District Court Sunday upheld the writer Sarah Shapiro's plagiarism claim against best-selling writer Naomi Ragen. The court ruled that Ragen knowingly copied from Shapiro's work in her novel Sotah.
Shapiro submitted her claim against Ragen in 2007. Both writers come from America's Orthodox Jewish community; Shapiro lives in Jerusalem and writes in English. In 1990, Shapiro sought Ragen's opinion about her debut novel. The two met; subsequently, Shapiro claims she was surprised to find selections from her book Growing with My Children in Ragen's Sotah.
In a 92-page opinion, Judge Joseph Shapira fully upheld Shapiro's claim against Ragen. The court opined that the plagiarism was "tantamount to a premeditated act," saying that Ragen acted knowingly and copied work created by the plaintiff.
The court relied on testimony furnished by Ragen herself.
Ragen, the court noted, "testified that work written by the plaintiff served as 'raw materials' for her, and that her method of writing is based on drawing from a 'well' and 'imagination' in ways that include the works of others, including those rendered by the plaintiff."
The Haredi writer Shapiro was represented by the Corinaldi law firm - Gilad Corinaldi and Talya Grinstein served as her attorneys. Corinaldi stated Sunday that this was a case of "cultural and literary disgrace." He elaborated: "This is a dark day for lovers of literature. The court seized upon Naomi Ragen's words and deeds, and decided that she transgressed in her writing, having stolen and plagiarized deliberately. The court sent out a message about integrity in writing."
Ragen was represented by the firm of Lieblich and Moser. Her attorney, Tamir Gluck, did not indicate whether her client would appeal the decision. Shapiro claimed NIS 1 million in damages; the court ordered the sides to negotiate the size of compensations.
Published: Jan 5, 2012 11:52 AM
ReplyDeletePosted on TOT by Robert Heimlich beezrat hashem:
The Supreme Court of Israel accepted the appeal of author Naomi Ragen for a verdict in the case brought against her by Michal Tal after the Jerusalem District Court vacated the case following Tal's death. The verdict on Tuesday by Chief Justice Beinish, Justices Gronis and Arbel accepted the agreement reached by Ragen and Tal's heirs, rejecting Tal's case, stating that "There is not and never was any basis whatsoever for any claim of plagiarism or copyright infringement brought against Naomi Ragen in the Jerusalem District Court."
In 2007, Tal's lawyer, Gilad Corinaldi, sent Ragen a letter in which he demanded that Ragen "pay my client, in light of the copyright violation and the profits you have made from this which have illegally enriched you, a more than appropriate sum of money..You have five days of grace (from the receipt of this letter until Monday 19 March 2007) to take the above actions. If you do not comply with these demands, my client will take the following actions:apply to the courts for injunctions against you and the three publishers who market and sell your books to remove the books from the bookstores (Steimatsky and others stores); sue you for millions of shekels (the sum has not yet been fixed); publicize your copyright violations on a special internet site and also issue a press release to all the media in Israel and especially outside Israel in order to give your readers an opportunity to judge for themselves the act of plagiarism you committed. Your fate is in your hands Your good name and the future of your works hang
in the balance." [emphasis in the original]
Ragen, who maintained throughout that she had never seen Tal's book, refused to pay. In an ex-parte session of the Jerusalem District Court, Tal obtained injunctions removing The Ghost of Hannah Mendes from the bookstores; she filed a one million dollar lawsuit; and publicized her claims in the press and on the internet.
During the trial, Ragen presented evidence that she had submitted her book, The Ghost of Hannah Mendes, to her publisher months before Tal self-published her novel in England. The "mutual friend" who Tal claimed had given Ragen a copy of her book testified that she had never done so. A forty page book of similarities compiled by Tal was shown to contain texts deliberately reworded to give the appearance of plagiarism. In her testimony, Tal blamed these inaccuracies on typographical errors made by her lawyers. Despite holding a degree in Hebrew Literature from Tel Aviv University, Tal testified that she had not understood the affidavits she had signed at the request of her lawyers.
The decision also states that "Tal sincerely believed at the time in the justice of her claims."
"Tal's claims were delusional," said Ragen, "but the travesties and suffering I endured for five years over this frivolous case were very real. It has been a truly horrifying experience for me and my family. I am
immensely pleased that justice has been finally been served and that the truth has come out in this case. Just as the truth has come to light in this case, it is my hope and belief that I will eventually be fully exonerated in the other cases against me."