PETA Sued for Unethical Treatment of Author

An author of a twenty-year-old book that drew parallels between modern day animal cruelty and the treatment of slaves is suing PETA over their tasteless demonstration of the same concepts. Marjorie Spiegel, author of "The Dreaded Comparison: Human and Animal Slavery," says that the animal rights group used materials from her book without permission in a 2005 traveling exhibit that drew significant criticism from civil rights groups. The exhibit juxtaposed images of oppression against black Americans with images of dead, dying, or captive animals. Spiegel’s lawsuit that says PETA’s exhibit has “degraded and impaired public discourse” and that readers of her book are now “forced to view it through the distorted prism that PETA has created.”

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By Billy Parker in News on August 18, 2008 5:09 PM

Comments [rss]

starrygordon

How do you know that a (non-human) animal suffers less than a human by being enslaved or killed? I know people are bent all out of shape by the comparison, but I don't see any logic in their attitude.

JMH

What she says is that they "used materials from her book", not that they took her idea. Sounds like the makings of a copyright claim to me.

onewhocarts

She can't sue them over the use of the same or similar concepts. You cannot copyright an idea.

If they actually quoted her work without proper permission or citations, she might have a case.

UnrepentantFenian

What Nick said. Peta distort facts? That's unpossible.

PETA = Domestic Terrorism.

Nick S

I usually applaud anybody willing to go up against PETA.. but THIS WOMAN WROTE A BOOK THAT EQUATED ANIMAL CRUELTY TO SLAVERY

i hope both parties rot.