Microsoft and Media Companies Support The Wind Done Gone

Posted on May 22, 2001

As the court date for Houghton Mifflin's appeal to the preliminary injunction blocking publication of The Wind Done Gone approaches, several media companies and First Amendment advocate groups, have filed Friend of the Court briefs. Microsoft Corporation filed a Friend of the Court brief last week in support of Houghton Mifflin's appeal. Several media companies and have also filed similar briefs including: The New York Times Company, Dow Jones & Company, The Tribune Company, Media General, and Cox Enterprises.

In March, attorneys for the Mitchell Trusts filed a lawsuit in Atlanta to stop the publication of The Wind Done Gone, claiming it violates their copyright of Gone with the Wind. On April 20, U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr. granted the Mitchell Trusts a preliminary injunction to prevent the publication of the novel. Author Alice Randall and publisher Houghton Mifflin claimed the book is a parody of the famous Gone With The Wind novel by Margaret Mitchell published in 1936. But Lawyers for The Mitchell Trusts Committee, which was created by Margaret Mitchell's brother to protect his sister's work, claimed the book is a copyright violation. Houghton Mifflin's emergency motion for an expedited appeal was granted, and the 11th Circuit will hear arguments on May 25th.

Six First Amendment advocates also filed a Friend of the Court brief last week. Those advocates, led by First Amendment lawyer and professor Leon Friedman, are PEN American Center, The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, The Freedom to Read Foundation, The Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, The First Amendment Project, and The National Coalition Against Censorship.