If, like me, you've been following the copyright infringement case filed against the author and publisher of the CRAVE young adult fantasy series, then we've finally got a decision to talk about. This week (March 16, 2026), a federal court granted summary judgment in favor of Tracy Wolff and Entangled Publishing on the issue of "substantial similarity" in the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Lynne Freeman alleging infringement of her BLUE MOON RISING unpublished novel by the CRAVE series. Prior to the release of book one in the CRAVE series, Freeman's agent pitched her manuscript to an editor at Entangled Publishing (Wolff's publisher), but the publisher passed. Freeman and Wolff also apparently had the same agent at the time. Freeman's lawsuit alleges that the agent, the editor, and Entangled's CEO were "very involved" in the writing of CRAVE. In essence, claiming Wolff had access to Freeman's unpublished novel and that Wolff's final book infringed Freeman's original, copyrighted manuscript. ✨WHAT DOES THE COURT'S DECISION MEAN?✨ As I teach in my intellectual property workshops, copyright protects only an author’s *expression* of an idea, not the idea itself. So the copyright concept of "substantial similarity" requires that a *protectable* element of a work be copied and the copying be more than "de minimis" (or minimal). After reviewing all of Freeman's drafts and all the books in the CRAVE series, the judge found the foundational story aspects—like a young girl discovering her supernatural powers, falling in love with a paranormal hunky guy, and fighting demonic forces—to be uncopyrightable because they were merely tropes or themes. Similarly, setting a novel in Alaska or at a high school (or at an Alaskan high school) is not protected by copyright. Freeman does have the opportunity to appeal the ruling. We'll see if she does. In the meantime, if you're interested in reading the full judge's decision and order, complete with addendums (157 pages total), I've attached it here. I'll be digging into the minutiae of this over the weekend.

Hi, all, I'm seeing a few new members who've probably found this group via a post of mine on Threads. Welcome! As noted over there, I'm currently on deadline for a book due tomorrow (Monday, March 16th). So I've yet to post much content here. That'll change starting Tuesday. ❓❓ >> While you're here (at this post), drop a comment and tell me what areas of the publishing business, copyrights, trademarks, licensing, etc. You most want info and resources on first. I'm putting together an IP Bootcamp, and I'll take your replies into consideration. After that, scroll through a few of the other posts and make a comment. This platform is slightly gamified. So you'll need points to level up to certain rights within the group. The more people engage with your comments (by "liking" them), the more points you'll get. So if gamification is your thing, go comment comment comment. ✨Start with my "Greetings" post and tell us about yourself.✨ And don't forget to "like" the comments of others to help them out. If gamification is not you're thing, don't worry. You're free to comment and like (or not) at your leisure or simply lurk.

Happy Wednesday, y'all! Whew, a lot going on behind the scenes right now, so gear up for some exciting stuff over the next 6-9 months. I just gave a presentation to an online author group on "Copyrights, Trademarks & AI." I'll be curating that presentation into a free webinar for members here soon. So watch the calendar as I build it out over time. But first order of business this week, you may have noticed that your community membership comes with a Leaderboard. How do you progress, you wonder? Engage. Engage. Engage. When someone likes your comment or post, then you get a point. So the more beneficial comments you share, the more 👍 ("likes") you're likely to get. Let's get your (and my 😂) Leaderboard movement going. Start with these activities👇🏽: (1) "Like" (after reading, of course!) my posts in the General Discussion category. (2) Introduce yourself in a comment on my Intro Yourself post. (3) Go "Like" the intro comment by one or more other people. (4) Drop a comment below about what you're most hoping to learn about first. [I've got lots of content to load here from the many conference presentations and courses I've given over the years. So help me figure out where to start.] NOTE: I'm planning to use the Leaderboard as a way to do giveaways and give out prizes periodically. What kinds of prizes would y'all find exciting? (If you tell me in a comment below, you might just get some Leaderboard points cuz I'm almost guaranteed to like your comment. 😁)

🗓️ BOOK MY SESSION I’ve put together a $100 1:1 coaching session (60 minutes) with me that I’m making available for a limited time to launch the transition of my alter ego’s general business coaching academy to Skool. We’re tentatively calling it the “Going Mogul Business Institute” (or maybe the “Entrepreneurship Lab” 🤔), but I’m still thinking on that. If you've got an opinion on the name, let me know. Anyway, I talked with a lot of authors last year who were struggling with the business side of being an author. I cringe when I see some of the advice given online. I’ve done a lot of webinars, workshops, and 1:1 coaching over the last few years, and this year, it’s time to focus my offerings into one platform so I can help more people in a systematic way. A few of you have asked me about coaching in the past or for additional help after a workshop with your social media or copyright issues, so this may be the time to take that next step. Note you can use this session for whatever you need – a strategy session to map out your author goals for the year, a 1-on-1 to get more in-depth help with Instagram, general business coaching, explanations of contract provisions you’re trying to decipher or you name it. My current 1:1 hourly coaching rate for corporate clients is $650 and $325 for authors in my premium communities. Yep! That’ll be you soon as I build out this SCRIBAL Book Business Institute. But now, you don’t have to wait. For this limited time, you can claim a 60-minute session with me for only $100. That's a steal! And the offer is good even if you are currently coaching with me at a different rate. Depending on where you’re at with your career, 1:1 coaching may not be for you. But at this rate, it's worth a try. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep this special rate available, so go schedule your $100 session NOW. 🔗 Click here. >> BOOK MY SESSION

✨️Tell us below who you are, what you do, and what you're most looking forward to right now.✨️ This online community will provide education, coaching, and implementation tools for building a thriving creative and author business. The group is designed to give ongoing support as you grow and scale to financial profitability and sustainability. We're here to serve authors, content creators, and online creatives and develop them into savvy entrepreneurs with profitable, sustainable businesses. If that sounds like what you need, you're in the right place. I'll be filling in the Collective with content, webinars, and much more based upon my decades of experience as an intellectual property lawyer, business strategist, and genre fiction author. Over time, we'll add premium courses and business cohorts. So stay tuned!