Cheated by a ‘frum’ magazine. Stealing?

Israeli_C

Mon, May 20 2019, 4:57 am

mommy2379 wrote:

The only reason I don't feel it will be effective in this case is because I think I know which pub it is and I don't believe they have a presence on social media. I could be wrong though.

Ahh ok then that's a different story

ivfhelp

Mon, May 20 2019, 5:43 am

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

I would like to see chapter and verse (and/or Gemara / Rambam / Shulchan Aruch / modern responsa) on this. I've heard it repeatedly but never seen it in text. If the halacha is as general as you are saying, there's every incentive for a powerful organization to screw an individual. I'd be surprised if halacha mandates such widespread screwing.

(I have never taken anybody to court or Beis Din, so I have no experience with this.)

Here is some of the sources (found by googling)
Here is a link with some of the sources.
https://www.businesshalacha.co.....court

There are many more articles and shiurim that can be found by Google.
I've never taken anyone to bd or court. This is probably something that can be worked out with a phone call. I do know that there are botei din/rabbonim that reduce fees for small claims to make it worthwhile

Israeli_C

Mon, May 20 2019, 6:36 am

ivfhelp wrote:

Maybe ask a Sheila before doing so. Lots of halachas might be in play here,....

True, there are many questions for a Rav, but that's up to OP. I didn't at the time because I was just royally p!ssed off with them and wanted to name and shame

mommy2379

Mon, May 20 2019, 6:55 am

OP- you deserve a major apology and compensation. It's extremely important that the publication understands what went wrong so that they can prevent it from happening again, so don't give up until you hear back from them.

33055

Mon, May 20 2019, 7:26 am

doctorima wrote:

The general going rate for articles in frum publications is $.10 per word, so depending on the length of the piece, it's probably between $100-$300 we're talking about.

I just don't understand how you can say, "I understand about the halachic aspect, but financially a BD doesn't pay." I agree that it's frustrating to lose leverage, but this is a frum site, and halacha is halacha. If her Rav or a competent BD allows her to go to small claims court, that would be something else, but otherwise, I don't understand advising her to do something that seems to explicitly violate halacha.

It's not worth going to a BD for that kind of money. OP wil end up with a loss even if she wins.

I agree with you about the Halacha. I wonder if she is allowed to file suit but not go forward after that. It will cost them more than the article to show up with an attorney. Threats of a lawsuit are meaningless for most businesses. And the magazine knows the costs of OP going to a BD.

Also, it would be within the realm of possibilities that someone on the staff is reading this thead.

OP, talk to someone above the person you spoke to. Go to an owner if possible. Send DH to collect your money.

You deserve compensation and a printed acknowledgement.

ivfhelp

Mon, May 20 2019, 7:34 am

I'm sorry to keep harping on this. I think a phone call will work wonders here. But filling in court is serious and should not be done without asking a competent Rav. Plenty of botei din will either do this for a tiny fee or maybe refer to dayanim that will do this for free.

33055

Mon, May 20 2019, 8:04 am

ivfhelp wrote:

Sorry, but many won't. The magazine can reject the BD that OP selects. Can you give OP the name of a free dayanim?

The total matter is a small amount. How much is the tiny fee?

ivfhelp

Mon, May 20 2019, 8:30 am

Bais havaad advertises small claims
Maysharim in lkwd has/had a small claims division
Most oot botei din would do this for free.

Other botei din probably know who will do this for free.
A Rav in your community might also know.
I'm just trying to say that if you call up any beis din and say you are going to small claims court, I believe most of them will work with you.
Of course, the defendant has a right to propose another beis din. But the original beis din that sent out the hazmana decides whether that counter proposal is reasonable and if the fees are more than the case is worth, it may not be reasonable.
I really find hard to believe that a beis din, who wants you to keep halacha, will not find a way to make a din Torah happen for a reduced fee.

I still think that you should try to work it out with the magazine rather than go to bd. But I think that you should go to bd instead of court.

Small claims is not so cheap either. It's 42 dollars in NJ (35 dollar filling fee 7 dollars for serving the defendant)
B https://www.google.com/search?.....UTF-8

PinkFridge

Mon, May 20 2019, 8:39 am

Israeli_C wrote:

Utilise social media to name and shame them. Many buckle under the pressure.

No. This is not a good idea for many reasons.
It's not something that should be done, definitely not till all options have been exhausted.
And do you think this will be good for OP's career going forward?

PinkFridge

Mon, May 20 2019, 8:45 am

Israeli_C wrote:

True, there are many questions for a Rav, but that's up to OP. I didn't at the time because I was just royally p!ssed off with them and wanted to name and shame

I feel for you. I can't imagine how distressing this must have been. And it's not like you had all the time in the world. But generally, acting at that point, instead of taking time to think calmly, is not the best option.

hotzenplotz

Mon, May 20 2019, 9:11 am

once I wanted to implement an idea and was
afraid the other party will take it for themselves. A dayan from choshen mishpat bais din wrote a psak halacha for $250.00, which I mailed to everyone involved. that scared them off.

forgetit

Mon, May 20 2019, 9:21 am

OP, is it really worth it your while to go to BD or small claims court for $100-$300? To me it seems like setting yourself up for agmas nefesh and money lost in the hours and hours you're going to spend on this? I don't know how much the money means to you, but I would just eat the loss, especially as you don't know what the outcome will be being that you don't have a contract as much as I'd feel frustrated at being powerless.
If its worth it for you to feel closure, then go ahead, but for the money part, I don't know how much you'll gain.
If you want to further your career, see if you can find an amenable way to work around it with this publication, or with other publications. You can PM a number of imamothers here who offered to discuss it with you (and I'm offering my services too, since I wrote extensively for many of the frum magz). I think that's the quickest, most effortless route for you to start with. You don't have to go the long, frustrating route and reinvent the wheel.

jkl

Mon, May 20 2019, 9:25 am

forgetit wrote:

I agree that its not worth her while, but it's precisely such inaction that allows the magazine to continue operating this way.

forgetit

Mon, May 20 2019, 9:30 am

jkl wrote:

I agree that its not worth her while, but it's precisely such inaction that allows the magazine to continue operating this way.

They are powerful enough to continue either way. I know someone who tried it for a larger issue, you can't imagine the agmas nefesh and money and time they invested. They ended up with some sort of minor win, but they lost more than they gained. For OP's own peace of mind and state of health I'd advise her to try calling as many posters said, but if that doesnt work, just write it off.
Unless she likes fighting for social justice Smile

Then she'll get all my blessings.

Studious

Mon, May 20 2019, 9:43 am

Not a US lawyer, but I would reference both copyright infringement as well as your moral rights (rights to have your name on your work and rights not to have the magazine make unauthorized changes to your work) in your letter to them.

So upsetting!

FranticFrummie

Mon, May 20 2019, 9:47 am

I just want to offer OP my heart felt sympathy. It's a horrible feeling to have your hard work stolen.

There used to be a blog called "You Thought We Wouldn't Notice". Unfortunately it's been taken down now, and I can't find it archived. Probably because someone got sued. I had an article posted on there about design copying. So did about a thousand other people.

I am a jewelry designer. Several years ago someone on Etsy copied a couple of my designs, then complained to Etsy admin that I was stealing her work. She was friends with one of the owners, so I got my entire shop deleted - hundreds of listings gone overnight. I lost all my customer base and all of my contacts.

The copy cat went on to be one of the top ten Etsy sellers of all time. I never recovered financially from losing my selling platform and customers.

Don't let anyone tell you that it's "just an article, and you'll write other ones." Every creation is part of your soul, and when someone takes that from you, the pain is very real.

Hug