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This situation is getting a little confusing and heated, so for the sake of documentation, I’m summarizing the story thus far in a post (with a handy time-stamp).

1. I’m approached by someone from Early Clues, the weird pseudo-corporate organization that I always thought was some kind of joke or satire. Said individual claims to be a ‘whistleblower.’ He gives me some files and asks me to publish them under Strange Animal. I think they’re interesting and funny, if a bit overwrought, and he assures me that they’re in the “public domain,” so I agree. Plus, I’ve always admired their warped and zany aesthetic, so I almost felt a little conspiratorial.

2. I start to work on the book, thinking this is no big deal, when, the other day, a post appears on Medium.com, “doxxing” me as the publisher (I’d planned to publish it semi-anonymously, to fit in with the “Early Clues” aesthetic). It denounces the publication as a “fraud,” and implies they’ll be pursuing “legal action” against me if I publish this PUBLIC DOMAIN material.

3. I reply in a post on this site that I have no intention of ceasing the publication of this material, as I’ve already put a metric ton of work into this project, and I’ve already invested money into printing costs. I share my intentions through a post on Facebook.

4. Early Clues responds yet again on Medium.com, claiming I am “picking” on their corporation. I post this once again on Facebook, and this time they reply in a post that actually uses screenshots from my Facebook posts. This is getting creepy.

5. They’ve also sent numerous threats via Twitter, which I barely even use.

So, I’ve taken a couple of additional steps to protect my investment. First of all, I’ve been consulting with a colleague who is familiar with US Copyright Law and Intellectual Property Rights. I’ve been advised to obtain proof that they have, indeed, dedicated this material to the Public Domain. I thought this would be a monumental task, given that copyright records are typically specific to a particular work and don’t cover an entire body of material. Still, I thought I’d give it a try.

THEN, remarkably, last night I received an email from my contact within Early Clues, attached to which was the following document:

Download the PDF file .

HAH! The proof I needed. I’m pretty sure the timestamps on the document will cover any legal challenges Early Clues tosses at me. Still, I’d really like this resolved without the annoyances and costs of legal back-and-forth, so I’ve asked my informal legal advisor to help me contact their legal department, to see if we can come to any kind of agreement regarding publication of this material.

Early Clues, the ball is in your court. I’m using this post to publicly state that this material will be released, one way or another. We can do it the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice. Have your representatives contact me at jeremy AT strangeanimal DOT net, and let’s see if we can come to a resolution that will be mutually beneficial.