Ten days ago, I wrote to Crest Nicholson regarding their use without permission of my photograph of the Bethnal Green Mulberry in their leaflets and exhibition for their proposed London Chest Hospital Development. I was encouraged by their initial response, admitting ‘we made a mistake’ and apologising ‘I am sorry you have had to contact us in this respect.’ But then this disappointing letter arrived from the Company Secretary which attempts to gag my criticism of their development and their plan to dig up the ancient Mulberry tree. Click here to read my initial letter.

(Click on this letter to enlarge)

My reply emailed to Crest Nicholson today:

29th January 2018

Dear Kevin Maguire,

Thankyou for your letter of 25th January in response to my letter of 17th January, relating to your use without permission of my photograph of the Bethnal Green Mulberry, which you reproduced in your leaflets and exhibition for your proposed London Chest Hospital development.

I understand that you have ceased circulation of the leaflet, removed my photograph from your exhibition and are now offering to pay for this usage.

However, I am unable to agree with your proposed letter of agreement in its current form.

I see no need for confidentiality in this matter and intend to continue to publish our correspondence as I have done to date. The confidentiality provision should be removed.

The statement referring to no admission of liability is a nonsense – you have acknowledged that it is my photograph which you have used without my permission. There is a clear breach of my copyright for which there is liability.

Your language concerning what I may or may not publish in the future is totally irrelevant to the issue of your breach of my copyright and has no place in the letter.

“by accepting this payment you agree that you shall not publish or cause to be published any false, misleading, derogatory, or disparaging comments about Crest Nicholson.”

You well know that I am critical of your proposed London Chest Hospital development and your attempts to secure permission to dig up the ancient Bethnal Green Mulberry, so I am unwilling to sign a document which would grant you recourse to take action against me if I were to write anything that you might choose to interpret as “false, misleading, derogatory, or disparaging.”

You underestimate me if you think that I will permit you to gag me by making it a condition of payment.

May I remind you it was your indefensible behaviour in using my photograph without permission in your leaflet discrediting the history of the Bethnal Green Mulberry which was the catalyst for this dialogue?

I am under no obligation whatsoever to accept any conditions of payment from you, but you are under legal obligation to pay me for the use of my photograph which was in clear breach of the law of copyright.

Please pay me without further delay.

Yours sincerely

The Gentle Author

The Gentle Author’s photograph of the Bethnal Green Mulberry which Crest Nicholson want to dig up

The Gentle Author’s photograph as reproduced without permission by Crest Nicholson in their leaflet and exhibition for their proposed London Chest Hospital development

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