The lawsuit against Einstein's Notes, a note-selling business run by student employees, for allegedly selling UF professors' lecture notes without permission has continued to thicken, albeit quietly.
Although the case has yet to appear before a judge and no major decisions have been made, both sides have taken small steps in their arguments since early May.
The first legal complaint filed by Faulkner Press, the software company used to supplement professor Michael Moulton's courses, blamed both Einstein's Notes and its owner, Thomas Bean, as being equally eligible and responsible for the charges of the case. The charges were filed in early April.
Moulton teaches Wildlife Issues in a Changing World and Biodiversity Conservation: Global Perspectives, large lecture classes that require students to buy electronic textbooks printed by Faulkner Press. Since the lawsuit, the company pulled its notes for those classes.
Einstein's Notes responded in early May, submitting a request that the charges not be considered worthy of a lawsuit, whether they are true or not.
Jim Sullivan, attorney for Faulkner Press, followed by writing an amended version of his first complaint. Most changes were to minor details and typographical errors, Sullivan said.
But Sullivan also revised his argument in favor of charging Bean personally for the actions of Einstein's Notes.
"We hope that the judge will view this case as one where it is appropriate to pierce the corporate veil and go beyond the company in our charges," Sullivan said.
Bean said he does not consider himself personally responsible for the charges. He continues to discover support from UF students when he least expects it, he added.
"I just found out about a Facebook group called 'Boycott Faulkner Press, Save Einstein's Notes,'" he said. "It's cool because I don't even know the kid who made it."
The group had 24 members as of Wednesday night. Despite the support, Bean said the case is in the hands of the judge now, not the students.
