A plea by Bruce Barrymore Halpenny - Author & Military Historian.

Authors across Europe have to come together to strengthen and harmonize the Copyright Laws in Europe. Those who take Copyright Work without the Copyright Owner’s authority, must be made to pay, for it is then stealing; for plagiarists damage the livelihood of genuine hard working authors; who, unless in the Best Sellers List, get very, very little … enough if they are lucky for just a cream bun and glass of wine.

The hardest hit are historians such as myself, who often find their work lifted (sometimes word for word) in other books, magazines, web sites etcetera.

People are often under the misconception that the work in a historical/factual book is freely in the public domain. That is not true. It is a myth that Copyright Thieves like to cling to; but they are grasping at straws, for the truth will out. In the case of my ACTION STATIONS Airfield Books, there was no public data available and what Public Records did hold was so little and poor that it really was useless for serious research; so I had to start my research from the very beginning; and, being former RAF Military Police (Special Duties) Nuclear & Chemical Weapons, I could open many doors that only I could do. I interviewed veterans, civilians, military units, and visited airfields (having tested airfield security on just about all of them) and it was a mammoth task.

The cost in time and money has still never been recouped from book sales and so I am out of pocket on these books by thousands of pounds sterling. Therefore to have someone then pinch my material; and to add insult to injury, claim it as their own work, makes me furious, because without my research they would have nothing to pinch! They do not do the research themselves because it would be too much time and money; and, they probably wouldn’t have the dedication and intelligence anyway.

Charles Dickens [1812 - 1870] was one of the greatest English novelists; and, throughout his life he was plagued by plagiarists/Copyright thieves. The Copyright laws were then very poor; and, sad to say, that in the 21st century little has changed to protect the Author’s Work … So time now to do so.

Bruce Barrymore Halpenny - Author & Military Historian

NOTICE
The right of Bruce Barrymore Halpenny to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.