Publishers Announce Settlement in Westwood Copies Copyright Infringement Suit.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

DANVERS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2003

Los Angeles Copy Shop Agrees to Pay Royalties, Comply with Copyright Law

Elsevier, Inc., The MIT Press, Sage Publications, Inc. and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. today announced they have settled their pending copyright infringement litigation against Los Angeles-based Westwood Copies and owner Elias Negash. The defendants have agreed to pay an undisclosed amount in damages for past unauthorized copying of publications from the plaintiffs. In addition, they have agreed that in the future they will honor and comply with all copyrights owned by the plaintiffs and will promptly pay associated royalties.

"We are glad to have reached a settlement that allows Westwood Copies to develop a framework for ensuring it remains copyright compliant moving forward," said Roy S. Kaufman, Wiley's associate general counsel. "In not heeding U.S. copyright law, coursepack providers injure not only authors and publishers but also their competitors who observe copyright standards."

The original claim filed by the publishers was coordinated by Copyright Clearance Center, the world's foremost licenser of text reproduction rights. It charged that the defendants produced unauthorized coursepacks for courses taught at the University of Los Angeles. Westwood Copies will now use Copyright Clearance Center's Transactional Reporting Service to meet the obligations of copyright compliance and pay all royalty fees required.

"With this settlement, Westwood Copies recognizes its responsibility as a content user to comply with the applicable copyright laws," said Tracey Armstrong, vice president, transactional services at Copyright Clearance Center. "We trust that other coursepack producers that are not currently copyright compliant will learn from this case that they also need to pay royalties, because copyright owners are actively enforcing their rights. Copyright Clearance Center is prepared to support all coursepack producers, including Westwood Copies, in their compliance endeavors."

Copyright compliance is an area of heightened focus by the publishing industry, ranging from more traditional technology such as photocopying to the use of the Internet, email and electronic document formats. Across the industry, efforts to educate content users on how these technologies are affected by copyright law are increasingly visible, as are rightholders' efforts to enforce their copyrights regarding their use.

About Elsevier, Inc.

Elsevier Inc. is a U.S.-based unit of the international Elsevier science and medical publishing business (www.elsevier.com), headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Elsevier is the world's leading scientific, technical and medical information provider and publishes over 1,600 journals as well as books and secondary databases. Elsevier's two parent companies - Reed Elsevier PLC ("REL") and Reed Elsevier NV ("REN") - are listed on the London and Amsterdam Stock Exchanges. Both Reed Elsevier PLC (NYSE: RUK) and Reed Elsevier NV (NYSE: ENL) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange."

About John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the parent corporation of Wiley Periodicals, Inc., provides must-have content and services to customers worldwide. Its core businesses include scientific, technical, and medical journals; encyclopedias, books, and online products and services; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students and lifelong learners. Wiley has publishing, marketing, and distribution centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols JWa and JWb. Wiley's Internet site can be accessed at www.wiley.com.

About The MIT Press

The MIT Press is the only non-profit university press in the United States whose list is based in science and technology. Founded in 1937, The MIT Press is a leader in publishing both books and journals in many frontier areas of biological and physical science, as well as in other areas for which Massachusetts Institute of Technology itself is famous (including architecture, computer science, economics, cognitive science and environmental science). The MIT Press maintains a complete catalogue of its publications at its website at http://mitpress.mit.edu.

About Sage Publications, Inc.

Sage Publications is a leading international publisher of journals, books and electronic media for academic, educational and professional markets. Since 1965, Sage (www.sagepub.com) has helped inform and educate a global community of scholars, practitioners, researchers, and students. Sage Publications has primary offices in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and in London, England.

About Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), a not-for-profit organization, is the world's largest licensing agent for text reproduction rights and provider of licensing services for reproducing copyrighted materials in print and electronic formats. CCC currently manages rights relating to over 1.75 million works and represents more than 9,600 publishers and hundreds of thousands of authors and other creators, either directly or through their representatives. CCC-licensed customers in the U.S. number over 10,000 corporations and subsidiaries (including most of the Fortune 100), as well as thousands of government agencies, law firms, document suppliers, libraries, academic institutions, copy shops and bookstores. Copyright Clearance Center can be found at www.copyright.com.