London, Sept 22 (ANI): Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has accused a British publisher of a breach of contract after the firm released drafts of his autobiography without his permission.
Edinburgh-based independent publishing firm Canongate has claimed that Assange had worked with a ghostwriter, but later backed out and tried to cancel his contract.
The publisher said he had been paid a substantial six-figure advance, and since he had not repaid it, it had decided to publish the first draft received in March, the BBC reports.
"On 7 June 2011, with 38 publishing houses around the world committed to releasing the book, Julian told us he wanted to cancel his contract," the publishing firm said in a statement.
"However, he had already signed his advance over to his lawyers to settle his legal bills," it said.
"We have decided to honour that contract and to publish. Once the advance has been earned out, we will continue to honour the contract and pay Julian royalties," it added.
Assange has, however, claimed that it is an unchecked work in progress and the publisher was profiteering from an erroneous draft.
"The events surrounding its unauthorised publication by Canongate are not about freedom of information," Assange said in a statement.
"They are about old-fashioned opportunism and duplicity - screwing people over to make a buck," he added.
He said Canongate had acted in breach of contract and personal assurances that the draft would not be released without his approval.
The book recounts Assange's early life growing up in Australia, how he became entranced by computers, and how he founded the secret-spilling website. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
