Houghton Mifflin Files Motion for Expedited Appeal Over Wind Done Gone

Posted on April 25, 2001

Houghton Mifflin said it filed a motion for an expedited appeal with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to overturn last Friday's ruling preventing the publication of The Wind Done Gone.

Earlier this month, attorneys for the Mitchell Trusts filed a lawsuit in Atlanta to stop the publication of Randall's book, claiming it violates their copyright of Gone With the Wind. U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr. ordered a preliminary injunction on Friday, April 20, to prevent the publication of The Wind Done Gone.

Even after being blocked by a court order there are still galleys of the book in circulation which have appeared for auction on Ebay and retailer Amazon still lists the book as comming soon in its online store, according to a CNET news story.

"We stand by our belief that Alice Randall's work is a political parody and that the publication of The Wind Done Gone is proper under the fair use doctrine of the Copyright Act and the First Amendment. We stand by Alice Randall's right to tell her story," said Wendy Strothman, Executive Vice President, Trade and Reference Division Houghton Mifflin Company.