Chara Curtis, Cynthia Aldrich, and Alfred Currier are the author and artists of inspirational children’s books Fun Is a Feeling, How Far to Heaven?, and All I See Is Part of Me. When the publisher of the books stopped paying royalties but continued publishing the books, Curtis sought help from the Washington Lawyers for the Arts. After several demands on the publisher, Curtis, Aldrich, and Currier terminated their publishing contracts, but the publisher continued to publish their books.
Curtis received a referral to HCMP and enlisted the pro bono assistance of attorneys Amit Ranade, Alex Wu, Kurt Kruckeberg, and Andy Murphy. HCMP helped Curtis, Aldrich, and Currier prevail in a breach of contract and copyright infringement lawsuit against the publisher. The court determined that the publisher’s willful copyright infringement weighed in favor of “a hefty award” and granted Curtis, Adrich, and Currier $150,000 in statutory damages.