Copyright Watchlist
A List of Occult Writers and Experts
Who Are Guilty of Copyright Violations
There is a common misconception that copyright law does not apply to the works of occult, fraternal, magical, pagan and wiccan writers. There is also the misconception that copyright law does not apply to the works posted to the internet.
Both of these misconceptions are wrong.
As soon as an artist, whether a writer, painter or what-have-you, creates something, it is under copyright. It is only though the artist's permission that you can reproduce their material. It does not matter whether you make a profit from stealing their work or not, ethically and legally, you are breaking the law if you reproduce their work without permission.
And while the BIORC encourages the preservation and digitization of out-of-print works, especially works that have fallen out of copyright, we do not believe that living writers and their immediate heirs should lose control of their creative work, and the profits associated with their creations.
As a rule of thumb (in most of the world), the length of a copyright is the lifetime of the author plus 50 to 70 years. If the author is still alive, the work is still under copyright.
Bear in mind that citing fair use is not a defense that allows you to copy the complete or even a significant part of the work of an author or artist. Nor is arguing that you are giving them free advertising a defense. Nor is giving their work away for free a defense.
And do not think that copyright violation does not affect you.
Copyright violations, including the fact that occult works are PDFed and pirated within a year of a work's release, is causing good writers and artists to cease working on occult oriented works. The next time, you complain that there is nothing new in Golden Dawn, magical, or wiccan books, remember that those people who are capable of contributing new and unique works are appalled by the fact that a work that can take them up to a decade to complete is being pirated within the first year of its release.
Copyright violation robs the entire occult community.
In light of this fact, the BIORC is gathering a list of those so-called experts and authors who are violating copyright law. We strongly suggest that you do not patron the services and products of these copyright violators. As J.R.R. Tolkien asked of his readers, buy only the authorized editions of the works of living writers and artists.
Without further ado, here is our list of suspected copyright violators:
Leo Ruickbie, Ph.D.
Included Origins of Halloween (and possibly other articles) by Rowan Moonstone in his Samhain Sabbat; this material was included in the Riders of the Crystal Wind Book of Shadows (a non-profit gift to the pagan community). He has also copied material from Dorothy Morrison, Joe Berthancourt, Leighanne Hussey and the OTO, according to Moonstone's original complaint.
His defense is that the work was in the public domain despite the authors' copyright notice (1989), and that his inclusion of the material in a for-profit work was permissible under fair use.
Please be advised that any inclusion of anything written by Rowan Moonstone in any work edited, written or distributed by Dr. Leo Ruickbie is not authorized. I have expressly forbidden him from using anything that I have ever written, or will write in the future, in any of his works now and in the future---Rowan Moonstone (October 2009).
Ruikbie has removed Samhain Sabbat from sale before a single copy was sold. There was some communication between the two parties, but communications broke down. As always in a situation like this, there are conflicting stories about what was happening and who told who to quit contacting them.
Ruickbie has advised Morgan Drake Eckstein that he could be sued, claiming that by publishing the statement of Rowan Moonstone that MDE has became the publisher of said statement and therefore liable to legal action himself. MDE is considering freedom of the press as his defense. MDE understands why communication between the two parties broke down.
We will continue to update this as we get more information, and hopefully clearer idea of what is really happening.
This page created on 2 October 2009.
This page last modified on 6 October 2009.
If you are an artist or writer and have discovered that your work has been published without your permission, and would like to have the BIORC consider including the violator on the Watchlist,
please contact us with the details. Registering a complaint does not guarantee that the person will be included in the next update of this list; BIORC reserves the right to decide who to include, or exclude, from this list based on the evidence. Declarations and advisements by authors forbidding suspected violators from using their material will be given the highest consideration for inclusion on the Watchlist.