| Re: A Question of Ethics
It strikes me that it falls firmly at the feet of the publisher - they're the ones sending out the proof copies after all. The problem is that, aside from the very largest publishers, I doubt most of them could afford the negative associations either.
It should, at least, be possible for publishers to track who's leaking the proofs. Watermark some of the pages with a unique number and keep a schedule of who each copy is sent to (I've dealt with embargoed documents marked in this way). If there are persistent offenders, the decision could be made whether to make an example of them (i.e. the illegal music downloaders approach).
As for taking legal action, sorry if I sound naive, but do the people receiving the proofs actually sign up a document undertaking not to sell on. You'd need this to sue. If I am a reviewer and just get sent an unsolicited proof with "not for resale" marked on it, I'm under no obligation not to resell it - there's no agreement between me and the publisher on which to sue. |