By Eriq Gardner
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Oprah Winfrey is being sued
by the author of political booklet, "How America Elects Her
Presidents."
Charles Harris claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S.
District Court in Pennsylvania that in 2008, as Winfrey began
supporting Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Harris sent 10
copies of his booklet to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in hopes of
gaining publicity. He followed up with several inquiries.
Harris got no response, but according to the complaint, on
the February 16, 2009 show, Winfrey allegedly read aloud exact
questions that were included in the book.
Harris claims that the readings were plagiarism and
constituted copyright infringement, which "caused and will
continue to cause Plaintiffs to suffer substantial injury, loss
and damage to its property and exclusive rights ... and further
has damaged Plaintiffs' business reputation and goodwill,
diverted its trade and caused a loss of profits all in an
amount not yet ascertained."
Harris is seeking Winfrey's profits or maximum statutory
damages of up to $150,000 per unlawful use. Reps for "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" weren't available for comment.
(please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or
on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)
© 2013 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.