Author claims copyright infringement

A Harris County man is suing over claims Chicago University Press published a book using copyrighted material from his own book without his permission.

Julian Olivares filed a lawsuit Oct. 17 in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas against University of Chicago et al, citing copyright infringement.

According to the complaint, plaintiff Olivares is creator of “Novelas amorosas y ejemplares, by María de Zayas y Sotomayor,” a critical edition created by Olivares, containing a large amount of material original by Olivares, and a transformation, interpretation and new, different version of "Novelas amorosas y ejemplares" published in in 2000 with a copyright notice.

The complaint states Margaret R. Greer and Elizabeth Rhodes translated and the University of Chicago Press published the book “María de Zayas y Sotomayor, Exemplary Tales of Love and Tales of Disillusion,” which includes original copyrighted material and at least nine translated narratives from Olivares' book.

Olivares says Greer and Rhodes admit, in the book, that they translated narratives from the plaintiff’s book and even thank him in print for "assistance and support" even though they did not request permission nor did Olivares grant permission to translate or use his copyrighted material, the suit states.

The defendants are accused of copyright infringement, violations of universal copyright convention and unjust enrichment.

Olivares seeks statutory damages, an accounting of all revenue received by the defendants for the book, judgment that the defendants must pay the plaintiff for the aforementioned revenue, judgment enjoining the defendants from further infringing upon the plaintiff's copyright, attorney fees and litigation costs.

He is represented by attorney William P. Ramey III of Ramey and Browning in Houston.

Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas case number: 2:14-CV-00966-JRG-RSP