Paradigm Course Resource – the University’s main supplier of course packets – is being sued for copyright infringement.

The suit was filed in federal district court Monday on behalf of Elsevier Inc., The MIT Press, the University of Chicago Press, Sage Publications and John Wiley & Sons. It alleges that Paradigm outlets in Austin, Texas, and in Minneapolis routinely printed copyrighted material in course packets without permission.

All the plaintiffs publish scientific, medical and technical journals. The suit was filed in Illinois because a third course packet outlet is located near the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Owner and President Robert Pyeatt, reached at Paradigm Books in Austin, said he was aware of the suit and spent the afternoon going over the filing with his attorney.

“We expect to settle this shortly,” Pyeatt said. “I put a call in to them this afternoon.”

The suit was organized by the Copyright Clearance Center, a nonprofit group dedicated to copyright compliance.

Pyeatt said the suit alleged three specific instances of copyright infringement at the Minneapolis Paradigm, located in the Dinkydome on University Avenue.

“Honestly, I think this is more of a press release than a lawsuit,” Pyeatt said.

In a press release, the Copyright Clearance Center said the suit was part of a series of cases coordinated in “an effort to educate content users on the importance of copyright compliance and maintaining a level playing field.”

Paradigm Course Resource became the University’s primary source for course packets after it opened in 1993, in part because they offered to secure all copyright permissions when compiling course packets.

Josh Linehan covers University legal affairs and welcomes comments at [email protected]