I have taken at least two weeks to come up with these thoughts so I ask your patience as I explain our side of this at this time. I will not respond to direct attacks, that is inappropriate and I ask that refrain from doing so. Thank you in advance.
Joe and I have spent two long hard years putting this book together. I remind you that getting Glen Larson was no easy task and both Joe and I had to wait weeks to get just an hour or two of his time. Understand that getting the releases for the photos, the interviews and the material that you saw was accomplished throught team work and community spirit, something that I am afraid Mike Pajaro has no understanding of.
Mike approached Iuniverse claiming copyright infringement of his website material. He made no attempt to contact me and work out the situation like an adult, (I legally have every recourse just as Joe does to be informed) and Mike asked Iuniverse what he needed to do to prove we had infringed on his copyright. Mike then proceeded to send a packgage, we received it and discussed with Iuniverse as well as legal representation what would have to be done in order to clear the situation.
What Mike fails to tell you is that both Rick Copp and David Goodman, both Team Knight Rider executive producers were appalled that Mike claimed that his material was theirs. Both producers called Iuniverse and faxed them over letters of support stating that Mike in no way had the copyright. Both Copp and Goodman have made it clear that Mike does not own their copyrighted material and all Mike has succeeded in doing is aggrivating them by insisting he does.
According to our attorney the episode guide of a television program cannot in any way be copyrighted to anyone but the original writers and/or studio that has purchased the rights to use and produce the material. Mike has no such copyright.
Mike has been informed via registred mail that he is in violation of several copyright infringements not limited to the items in the episode guide that were clearly taken from the material Mr. Copp provided but also on Universal's copyright for publishing the original press kit on the site, displaying the logo for MCA/Universal on his site and claiming to be unsanctioned and unendorsed by Universal. Those alone will cause the legal department at Universal to sit up and take notice and they are already have been sent copies of his violations. Displaying the Universal logo without permission granted is cause for the site to be removed from the internet and make him liable for hefty licensing fines that will date back to when the logos were first displayed in the 90s. Joe and I have every intention of pursuing those infringements and we have retained a lawyer for that reason, as well as an FCC licensed individual who is our literary agent.
On the first page of Mike's site which can be accessed at the address
provided below he has placed a disclaimer stating that in no way is his site
endorsed by Universal. At the second link you will find a complete press kit
published with the Universal logo still intact. His publication of said kit
without having any rights granted by Universal falls into the infringement
of Universal Television's copyright. This material includes synopses
listings for the series. The third link is a listing of each episode written
by Rick Copp and David Goodman. You will note that Mr. Copp and Mr. Goodman have already
stated that material was given to both parties at different times via their letters to Iuniverse.
Link One -
http://web.archive.org/web/19971224043748/http://teamknightrider.com
Link Two -
http://web.archive.org/web/19990503035420/www.teamknightrider.com/press/lett
er.html
Link Three -
http://web.archive.org/web/19990225161451/www.teamknightrider.com/copp/copp.
html
This is our current position:
Because Mr. Pajaro opted to infringe on Universal's
intellectual rights by using parts of the material provided verbatim did not
then and does not now give him copyright ownership over said materials
because he has it on a public forum.
Iuniverse has said that they are a 3rd party and will not get in between both of us to resolve the dispute. That leaves Joe and I with two options.
1) Mike agrees to sign a letter stating that he has dropped his infringement allegation stating that Rick Copp and David Goodman are the original and only holders of the copyright on any Team Knight Rider Guide (which is true and fact).
2) Joe and I are forced to reedit the book in order to end the stalemate.
The following was stated by Mike a few weeks ago:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>
The authors knowingly, willingly, and intentionally copied original text from my website and used it in their book. That is not a matter of opinion. The writings are on my site, the same words are in the book. If it wasn't a problem, they wouldn't be worrying about having to remove material.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Copp and Goodman provided us with the same source material Mike had. They also provided us with their episode descriptions and their trivia which Mike claims as his(any idiot can read the screen and see which names are on it, Mike claims that he saw it first, therefore he owns it). Joe and I had access to all 22 episodes. We observed the same thing he did. We have no problem, we are legally protected by Copp and Goodman. However, Iuniverse wants either choice 1 or 2 and that is the tough decision.
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I have not asked for any money, nor any other form of compensation. Despite claims by the authors that "Mike Pajaro has cost us several thousands in damage", as they mentioned in the mass email that went out to many of you, no legal action has been taken whatsoever. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Joe tried his best to offer Mike an acknowledgement. Every email just told Joe that he was going to Iuniverse and could not elaborate further. Mike never had any intention of letting me know. He never once thought about how hard the community had pulled together, or how the cast would feel once they found out that they could not purchase a book because Mike wanted to ensure that I was the bad guy in all of this for copying his information. We never copied Mike nor will we ever. Mike should be so lucky. Yes, Mike did cost us thousands in book sales simply because he felt that we had ripped him off previously. Legal action Mike has been taken and we will continue further if you attempt to libel the book by stating we infringed on anything.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR> I am not out to kill the book. I have taken absolutely no action whatsoever to further delay the book. At this point, it is not in my hands. The only thing I have asked it that MY writings be removed from THEIR book.
Mike
mosthatedperson@teamknightrider.com
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Taken no action whatsoever? What do you call claiming infringing when you didnt write the material to begin with- Copp and Goodman did and they have written statements attesting to that.
Mike no one hates you. Joe and I certainly will not remember you as our favorite person but as a moderator on this board you have seriously questioned how far you are willing to go to destroy this book. You tried to pit one author against the other(and we have emails to prove it) and refused to compromise(as Mike has stated he will not compromise on any issue).
Mike has the power to end this. Otherwise choice 2 will be started on. That means we will be replacing sections and adding a Rebecca Holden interview and a Michael Scheffe interview in its place, redesigning the books layout and adding 50-100 more pictures. We feel that some good should come out of this and we want to give more back to the community. Some people might object to the radical change of the book, but it will be costing us money to change it but we would keep the old format if Mike sends the letter to Iuniverse. If he does not he leaves us little choice.
Joe and I are not at fault. We have proper legal clearances and the support of Glen Larson. Right now Mike will be facing the wrath of Universal because he would not compromise on something that was never his to begin with and has been infringing on Universal by using his press kit logo for 5 years. My friends, Joe and I never set out to stop the book. Mike Pajaro did. Joe and I don't use Revolution Studios logo without giving them credit. Mike does. Mike has 14 different infringements on his site and he claims to be unofficial. I would love to hear how he can claim to not be associated with Universal yet carry their logo on his page.
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For the past year and a half or so, I have been asked repeatedly if I wanted to work on the Knight Rider Legacy book, specifically regarding the Team Knight Rider section. I repeatedly made it perfectly clear that I did not want to work with the authors. So instead, they simply copied material from my site in the book. This is not a question of having a few phrases which are similar to my writings. These are complex sentences, copied verbatim. They are not magazine articles or press releases which I happen to have on my website; they are my own personal writings. I am the author. I estimate there are several thousand words copied.
So you can see that Mike has agreed that every attempt was made to make him a part of the community and the book. Mike is not the author of the TKR guide, Copp and Goodman are. Joe and I will admit we copied material with the expressed permission of the Executive Producers and not from Mike. Do you know how hard Joe and I laughed when Mike was claiming that in Fallen Nation the names on the screen were his observation and copyright to him when anyone can view the screen and see the names. That is how absurd Mike's claims got to be. Joe and I interviewed writes and producers. Mike had access to those same people back in 1997. Next Mike will accuse us of ripping off his letter from Rick Copp and that it appears in the book too. Upsetting them appears to be a nonissue for Mike though at this point though.
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The next big question people seem to have is "why didn't you email both Joe and Richie?" The answer will sound a bit harsh: there was really no reason for me to even email Joe. I think at that point it was already a given that I was going to notify the publisher. But I emailed Joe to let off a little bit of steam, to find out if there were any outstanding circumstances I needed to know about, and also, believe it or not, as a sort of "heads up" of my intentions.
Emailed Joe. Last time I checked there were 2 authors. I was more then willing to answer Mike professionally but he even admits to not consulting me. Joe and I are partners. I deserved the same "heads up". Is this how a moderator is supposed to act? Already a given (notice that the word given is there, an indication that nothing would ever change his mind). Is it just me or was Mike set on doing this regardless of whether Rick and David gave us their approval?
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Apparently there was some problem or confusion at the convention because only 3 books were available for sale and people were disappointed that they couldn't pick up a copy. I don't know the entire story, but the limited number of books was not a result of the hold
I was informed by Joe just before the convention that Mike was proceeding with an infringement claim. Legal representation informed us not to circulate the book until as such time as the situation could be evaluated. So Mike's statement holds no water here.
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My only request has been that the authors remove the sentences copied from my webpage, and replace them with their own words.The book has not been killed. It will be re-released at some point, everyone will be able to buy it, and this delay will have no significance.
No significance? How do you explain the backlash of people who have emailed Joe and I stating that Mike is out for his own selfish reasons and did not care to participate in the book, sees one chapter of the book and decides that because he hates one of the authors that he will stand his ground and show them who is boss in this community. You may back Mike after reading all of this but Mike in his own words never had any intention of calling or approaching the authors together. He even admits this. The fact is that we had to put off a book deal in Germany because Mike won't work with us, he would rather work against us. Read the acknowledgement page in the book Mike. Oh wait, I forgot you only read one chapter of it, yet you came to this decision. That speaks volumes on how dedicated you are to yourself.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote
Some follow-up comments:I have no authority over the book to "let" the authors reword the book. They can do whatever they like WITH THEIR OWN WRITING. .I am not granting permission for them to do a rewrite, I'm simply asking that the final version does not include the material I wrote.I also want to add that my lack of involvement with the book did not hinder its initial release in any way. Agreeing to assist may have been a goodwill gesture towards the authors, but not to the Knight Rider community.Mike------------------
Look at how Mike has allowed his personal vandetta to go beyond this board. Mike has never looked at the Acknowledgements page. On it is half the community. Paul Nuthall, Linda Borchers, Scott (who got Paul at Code One Auto to give photos)and many others including Laura and Tomy who gave their time to the project. The Knight Rider community helped shaped the book. Mike's statement is an admission that he could care less about the book or the people who contributed to it.
This is the individual who you want moderating the board Neil? One who has 14 infringements on his site, does not work with the authors of a book, won't even read the book before he argues parts of it and works to seperate the two authors who put their heart and sould into writing it? Every cast member of the series is appalled at how selfish Mike has been, along with a good portion of the board members. How would the rest of you feel to know that the very cast of Knight Rider supports us and not Mike. If Mike loves the series so much why is he doing everything in his power to hurt it? Because he hates me? I don't know.
One final thought here. By keeping me banned and silent you prevent me from promoting the community through the cast and crew. People like Rebecca Holden would love to particpate with the community but as long as Mike continues to moderate I will not come back here other then to defend the book (and I admit I should have a right to do that). We can do so much if people stop treating me like I don't know the cast and crew. This community can benefit from my wisdom, knowledge and connections. Wouldn't it be nice if just once we all worked together instead of saying, "Mike is right" or "Joe and Richie are right".
By no means will Joe or I give up. A better version of the book will be available because we are about the community. All Mike seems to care about is himself and I am not the only one to share that view, just the one who has to suffer because I the one who is vocal about it. And in retrospect I am guilty of selflishness too. I ask for your forgiveness. On that note, I will tell Joe to post on this topic when I speak to him Wed afternoon. Neil, thank you for allowing me the chance to counter what Mike has said and for the link for the book. Your support for our cause has shown that this community can pull together and solve our problems and create solutions from within. That is a lesson that Mike must learn.
Richie
PS: I do not know if Neil will allow me to respond, but just in case he does not, I will email me at
knightrider1983@yahoo.com if you have a direct concern.