gff

Deryk's totally correct of course but the problem is that whilst deliberate intellectual property theft has obviously taken place, for damages to be awarded in a successful prosecution the plaintiff would have to show that the theft caused fiscal harm. As the book I wrote with Don is no longer in print,it would be difficult to demonstrate how the theft had harmed the copyright holder. Think we just all have to take note that it was a shameful theft perpetrated by an author who either didn't have the ability to create his own work or was too lazy to do so. Congratulations to the original poster here who has given us all an insight into the ethics of those involved Graham Forsdyke

Yes, of course, it's often useful when writing an article to quote from a previous authoritative source but there's a vast difference between quoting a few lines with an attribution to the original author and the apparent wholesale plagiarism of this case. Apart from collaborating with him on the original book, I was a close friend of Don and, knowing him that well, am surprised at the suggestion that he would have given permission for his work to be copied in this fashion with no mention of the original book or author........ gra

Just a little background on this issue -- sorry I'm late with this but have only just been made aware of it. I ghost wrote the original book for Don Smith and received a fee for the work which included passing the copyright for my words to Don. The book makes it clear that the copyright remained with Don after publication and this has now passed to his heir, Amanda. I spoke with her today and she is understandably upset at the wholesale lifting of the text from her father's book and has a problem understanding how anyone would stoop to claiming authorship for something they had no hand in writing or commissioning. Not owning the copyright, I guess we can't expect the original publisher, Haynes. to have any great interest in this intellectual property theft but I hope that the publisher and/or author of the new book will step up and make things right with Amanda. I wrote a good number of books on motor cycling matters in the 1960s and '70s both in my own name and for others. I know that then, had I resorted to plagiarism, I would have been cast out from the publishing community and never allowed to work in that field again. Graham Forsdyke