Gnomon Corp. Resolves Suit; Publishers Limit Photocopying

The Gnomon Corporation reached an out-of-court settlement with seven publishers last Tuesday, agreeing to stop micro-publishing--printing anthologies for professors--and to limit other multiple copying of books, newspapers and magazines.

Adam L. Carley, president of Gnomon, said yesterday, "Gnomon's alledgedly wrongful copying practices were legal. We simply could not afford to prove it." If the case went to the Supreme Court, court costs could reach at least $250,000, Carley said.

Although the U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn. has to finalize the agreement, both sides expect the court to approve the settlement.

Warren D. Goldfarb, assistant professor of Philosophy, said yesterday he had about 50 per cent of Willard V. O. Quine's "Methods of Logic," copied for students in his Philosophy 140, "Deductive Logic" course last fall since the Coop supplied about 75 copies less than needed. Goldfarb said that although he did not ask the publisher for the right to copy portions of the book, the book was out of print and "Quine wouldn't mind."

Robert A. Carroll, manager of the Office of Information and Communication Systems, said yesterday that Harvard's own photocopying service does not require patrons to show copyrights from the publisher. He said Central Copy has refused to copy large portions of books in print for some professors since "we certainly have no intention to violate any laws," adding that the copying service is "reviewing" the policy.

The difference between Gnomon and Central Copy is that Gnomon "micropublishes for profit," while Central provides a non-profit academic service, Carroll said.

Jeffrey Wolcowitz, head section leader for Social Analysis 10, "Principles of Economics," said yesterday he contacted all publishers for the material in the "Readings/Workbook." The publishers occasionally charged a fee to let Harvard reprint the book at the Harvard Printing Office, he added.